J
0^
.\
Varied Bunting
(Cvanospiy.a Versicolor)
HE
V
KEY
TO
North American Birds.
CONTAINING A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF EVERY SPECIES OF LIVING AND FOSSIL
BIRD AT PRESENT KNOWN FROM THE CONTINENT NORTH OF THE
MEXICAN AND UNITED STATES BOUNDARY, INCLUSIVE
OF GREENLAND AND LOWER CALIFORNIA,
/"f! U ( 7)
WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED
GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY:
AN OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS;
AND
FIELD ORNITHOLOGY,
A MANUAL OF COLLECTING, PREPARING, AND PRESERVING BIRDS.
Cf)e Jiftf) iEtttion,
(entirely revised)
^
EXHIBITING THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION, AND INCLUDING
DESCRIPTIONS OF ADDITIONAL SPECIES
IN TWO VOLUMES.
Volume II.
By ELLIOTT COUES, A.M., M.D., Ph.D.,
Late Captain and Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army and Secretary U. S. Geological Survey; Vice-President of the American
Ornithologists' Union, and Chairman of the Committee on the Classification and Nomenclature of North American Birds ;
Foreign Member of the British Ornithologists' Union ; Corresponding Member of the Zoological Society
of London ; Member of the National Academy of Sciences, of the Faculty of the National
Medical College, of the Philosophical and Biological Societies of Washington.
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON:
DANA ESTES AND COMPANY.
1903,
v/. fnS.^n.i"
la
CONTENTS TO TOLUME 11.
PART III. — Continued.
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.
PAGE
Older PICARLTi^: Picarian Birds 537
Suborder TROCHILI : Huiiiiuiugbirds 543
Family TiiOCiiiiJD.i; : Hummingbirds 54;j
Sidjordci-CYPSELI: Swifts 555
Fauiilv ^IicuoPODiD.E : Swifts 555
Subfamily Micropoduue : Typical Swifts 5.j()
Subfamily C/uedtrime : Spine-tail Swifts 558
Suborder CORACLE : Coraciau Birds 560
Family Caprijiulgid.e : Goatsuckers 561
Subfamily CaprimulgiiKe: True Goatsuckers; Night-jars 562
Suborder HaLcYONES: Halcyoniform Birds . . ' 570
Family Alcedjnid.t: : Kiugfisliers ... 571
Subfamily Alcedininre : Piscivorous Knigfisliers . . . . ' 572
Suborder TROGONES : Trogons 574
Family TuoGoxiD.E : Trogous 575
Suborder PICI : Piciform Birds .... 576
Family Picid.k : Woodpeckers, Piculets, Wrynecks 576
Subfamily Fieiiue: Woodpeckers 577
Suborder COCCYGES : Cuculiform Birds 602
Family CucL'LiD.E : Cuckoos 602
Subfamily Crofophagbia' : Auis; Guiras 60-1.
Subfamily Neomorphinrc : Ground Cuckoos 605
Subfamily Canilin/e: Tree Cuckoos ... 607
Order PSITTACI: Parrots 611
Suborder EUPSITTACI : Carinate Parrots 61 i
Family Aiun.E: Macaws, etc 616
Sul)f;niiily Coiiurbue : Wedge-tailed American Parrots . ')!()
Orfler RAPTORKS: Hirds of Prey 617
Suborder ^^TRIGES: Nocturnal Birds of Prey; Owls (jH»
Family Aluconid.'E: Barn Owls ()21
Family Strkjid.k : Other Owls 623
IV CONTENTS.
PAGE
Suborder ACCIPITRES: Diurnal Birds of Prey 648
Family Fai.conid.e : Vultures, Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, etc 649
Subfamily Circinee: Harriers 651
Subfamily Milvince : Kites 653
Subfamily ^(?c2/>?VrM^; Hawks 657
^\xhidL\m\j Falconin<e : Falcons 662
Subfamily Pohjborina; : Caracaras 677
Subfamily ButeonirKe: Buzzards and Eagles 678
Family Pandionid.e : Fish Hawks ; Ospreys 698
Suborder CATHARTIDES : American Vultures 700
Family Cathartid^: American Vultures 700
Subfamily Sarcorhamphina; : Condors and King Vultures 701
Subfamily CathartirKe : Turkey Vultures 701
Order COLUMB^: Columbine Birds 705
Suborder PERISTER^: True Columbine Birds 706
Family Columbid^ : True Pigeons or Doves 709
Subfamily Columbinee : Arboreal Pigeons 709
Subfamily Zenaidina; ■ Ground Doves 712
Subfamily Starnceiiaduuc : Quail Doves 719
Order GALLIN-^ : Gallinaceous Birds ; Fowls 719
Suborder PERISTEROPODES: Pigeon-toed Fowls 720
Family Cracid.e : Curassows, Guans, etc ' . 721
Subfamily Penelopinre : Guans 721
Suborder ALECTOROPODES: True Fowls 721
Family Puasianid^: Pbeasants, etc 722
Subfamily P//«i7V/«/;^^; Pheasants 723
Family MKLEAGRiDiD/t ; Turkeys 726
Family Tetraonid^ : Grouse . 730
Family Perdicid^ : Partridges and Quails 749
Subfamily P6'/-f/«a«<? ; Old World Partridges and Quails 750
^nhi&m\h OdoHfoijIioruuf : American Partridges and Quails 752
Order LI MICOLiE: Shore Birds ; Waders 762
Family Jacanid,e : Ja^anas 765
Family Charadriid/E : Plovers, etc 767
Subfamily Charadnma : True Plovers 767
Family Aphrizid.e : Surf-Birds and Turnstones 783
Subfamily Aphnzinee: Surf-Birds 784
Subfamily ^r^wffm;?)^ • Turnstones 784
Family H/EMatopodid.e: Oyster-catchers; Sea Pies 787
Family K.eciirvirostrid/e : Avocets, Stilts 789
Family Phalaropodid.e : Phalaropes 793
Family Scolopacid.e: Snipe, Sandpipers, etc 798
Order PALUDICOLiE: Marsh Birds . 844
Suborder G RUES . Cranes, Agamis, and Courlans 846
Family Gruid.e ; Cranes 847
Family Aramid^ : Courlans 849
CONTENTS. V
PAGE
Suborder RALLI : Rails and Rallit'orni Birds 850
Family Rallid.e : Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, and Coots 850
Subfamily i£«//w,*; Rails and Crakes 851
Subfamily G allitmlma: : Gallinules .... 859
Subfamily Falicma;: Coots 861
Order HERODIONES: Herons and their Allies 863
Suborder IBIDES: Ibis Series 864
Family Ibidid.e : Ibises 864
Family Plataleid.e : Spoonbills 868
Suborder CICONLE: Stork Series 868
Family Ciconiid.e: Storks 869
Subfamily Tantalmm : Wood Ibises 869
Subfamily Ciconiince : True Storks 870
Suborder HERODII : Heron Series 870
Family Ardkid.e : Herons 871
Subfamily Anleuue: True Herons 873
Subfamily Botauritue : Bitterns 883
Order LAMELLIROSTRES: Anserine Birds 887
Suborder ODONTOGLOSS.E : Grallatorial Anseres 887
Family Pii(Exicoi'Tp:rid.e : Flamingoes 888
Suborder ANSERES : Anserine Birds Proper 890
Family Axatid.e : Swans, Geese, Ducks, and Mergansers 890
Subfamily Cygime: Swans 893
Subfamily Anserin/e: Geese 896
Subfamily ^««i/«<f.' River Ducks 908
Subfamily Ftilif/idiiKe : Sea Ducks 920
Subfamily Merr/ince: Mergansers 947
Order STEGANOPODES : Totipalmate Birds 951
Family Sulid.e : Ganuets ; Boobies 953
Family PELic.iNiD.E : Pelicans 956
Family PiiALACROcoRACiD.E: Cormorants 959
Family ANiriXGiD.E : Anliingas ; Darters; Snake-birds 968
Family FuKGATiD.E: Frigates; Men-o'-War 969
Family PiiaethoxtiD/E : Tropic Birds 971
Order LONGIPENNF^S : Long-winged Swimmers — Jaegers, Gulls, Terns,
Skimmers 973
Family Stercokakuu.e : Jaegers, or Skuas 975
Fa?nily Larid.e : Gulls, Terus, Skimmers 982
Subfamily Larince : Gulls 982
Subfamily Sterniiuc : Terns, Sea-swallows 1000
Subfamily Rhynchopvup : Skimmers 1019
Order TUBIXARES: Tube-nosed Swimmers 1021
Family Diomkdeiu.e: Albatrosses 1022
Family Procellariid.b : Petrels 1026
Subfamily Fulmarhtrr: Fulmars, etc 1027
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
Subfamily Pi'{^2'«^ • Shearwaters, etc 1031
Subfamily Frocellariinm : Short-legged Stormy Petrels 1040
Subfamily Oceanitinm : Long-legged Stormy Petrels 104-4
Order PYGOPODES: Diving Birds 1046
Suborder GAVI^E: Loous 1047
Family Gaviid.e : Loous, or Divers , . 1047'
Suborder PODICIPEDES: Grebes 1051
Family PoDiciPEDiDiE : Grebes 1051
Suborder ALaE : Auks 1059
Family Alcid.k : Auks, Murres, etc 1059
^Vi^i'&mxX'^ FratercuUnte : Sea Parrots, or PufBus 10G2
Subfamily Phaleriditue: Auklets, Murrelets, and Black Guillemots 1068
Subfamily ^//2V(!r<?: Sea Doves 1080
Subfamily ^/r//«« .• Murres or Guillemots, and Auks 1081
PART IV.
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS OF THE FOSSIL BIRDS OF NOBTII AMEKTCA.
A. Teutiaky Birds 1087
B. Cretaceous Birds 1093
C. Jurassic Birds 1097
INDEX 1099
APPENDIX 1145
Part III. — Continued.
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS
OF
NOKTH AMERICAN BIRDS.
Order PICARI^: Picarian Birds.
nnHIS is a miscellaneous assortment (in scientific language, "a polymorphic group ") of birds
-*- of highly diversified forms, grouped together more because they differ from other birds in
one way or another, than on account of their resemblance to one another. As commonly re-
ceived, this order includes all non-passerine Land Birds down to those with a cered bill (Par-
rots and Birds of Prey). Excluding Parrots, which constitute a strongly marked natural group
of equal value with those called orders in this work, Picaria correspond to Strisores -\- Scan-
sores of authors ; including, however, some that are often referred to Clamatores. (This
''order" Scansores, or Zygodactyli, containing all the birds that have the toes arranged in
jndrs, two in front and two behind (and some that have not), is one of the most unmitigated
inflictions that ornithology has suffered; it is as thoroughly unnatural as the divisions of my
artificial key to our genera.) I have no faith whatever in the integrity of any such groupius;
as "Picaria;" implies; but if I sliould break up tliis conventional assemblage, I should not
know what to do witli the fragments; not being prepared to follow Garrod to the length of
a classification of birds based primarily upon the condition of certain muscles of the leg; and
knowing of no available alternative. With this protest, and upon such understanding, I retain
the Picarian group, as iu the original edition of the Key, to include all tlie Nortli American
Land Birds of non-passerine character, without a liooked and cered bill, and without tlie proper
characters of the Columbine and Galliue families. The A. 0. U. ignores the major group, and
presents instead three orders — Coccyges, Pid, and Macrochires. With this procedure I have
no quarrel, as the three are precisely coincident with my tlirce suborders CucuUformcs, Pici-
formes, and Cypseliformes.
Manifestly, from what has been saiil, Pivaria- are insusce]>tible of satisfactory dcfiuititm :
but I may indicate some leading features, wlietiier of positive or negative diaraeter, tliat tiioy
538 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARIjE.
possess in common. The sternum rarely conforms to the particular passerine model, its pos-
terior border usually being either entire or else doubly-notched. The vocal apparatus is not
highly developed, having not more than three pairs of separate intrinsic muscles ; the birds,
consequently, are never highly musical. There are some modifications of cranial bones not
observed in Passeres. Picaritp, like lower birds, usually lack a certain specialization of flexor
muscles of the toes seen in Passeres. This anatomical matter requires special attention, as
some important classificatory considerations are involved. The jjasserine rule is, that the
flexor liallucis, which bends the hind toe, is perfectly distinct from the flexor perforans, which
bends all the other toes ; and that the former has but one tendon, going to hind toe, while
the other has three tendons, going to all the rest of the toes. Passerine birds being considered
to represent the "normal" (or usual) arrangement, are called nomopelmous ; and all birds
which do not have this arrangement I call anomalopelmous. Passerine birds are also called
schizopelmous, with reference to the complete separation of the hallucal from the other dig-
ital tendons. But the anomalopelmous Picarian birds present several further specializations
of the arrangement for bending their toes. In the Hummingbirds the flexor hallucis besides
going to the first toe supplies also the second digit by a branch, and sends in addition the
rudiments of little slips to the third and fourth digits. In the Hoopoes the arrangement
is nearly schizopelmous, but there is a desmopelmous feature beyond the bases of the
toes. In the Cuckoos, again, the tendons of the flexor hallucis and flexor perforans are
connected by a vinculum or ligament at the point where they cross each other on the way
to their respective digits ; they are hence called desmopelmous, and this arrangement is also
shared by psittacine and gallinaceous birds. Again, in the Swifts and Goatsuckers, of the
group Cypseliformes, the respective tendons of these two muscles are extensively blended to-
gether ; they are hence termed sympelmous. Fourthly, in numerous zygodactyle birds, the
Woodpeckers and their allies, the flexor perforans has only one tendon, which goes to the
" middle" or third toe, i. e. the outer anterior one, while the flexor hallucis splits into two
or three tendons, which supply all the other toes ; tliey are hence termed antiopelmoiis. Fifthly,
in the Trogons, which are yoke-toed in a diff"erent way from any other birds, by reversion of
the second instead of fourth toe, the flexor hallucis has two tendons which supply the two hind
toes, and the flexor perforans has likewise two tendons, for the front toes ; they are thus what
is called heteropelmous. The technical terms here used of the birds themselves are equally ap-
plicable to the anatomical arrangements ; one may speak, for example, of anomalopelmous feet,
or anomalopelmous tendons, as well as of anomalopelmous birds. Three of the five arrangements
noted for Picarian birds, the sympelmous, antiopelmous, and heteropelmous, are peculiar to
this group. With regard to the ambiens muscle, it is absent in most Picarice, which are there-
fore anomalogonatous ; but present in the homalogonatous Cuckoos and their near relatives the
Turacous. Externally, the feet are very variously modified; one or another of all the toes, ex-
cept the middle one, is susceptible of being turned, in this or that case, in an opposite from the
customary direction ; the fourth one being frequently capable of turning either way; while in
five genera of Picidce and one genus oi Picumnidce the first, and in two genera oi Alcedinidce
the second, toe is deficient. When all four toes are turned forward, as in the Colies, the feet
and their owners are termed pamprodacti/lous. When there are three in front and one behind,
as in Kingfishers, the term anisodactylous is used ; and when the digits of such a foot are
extensively soldered together, the formation is called syndactylous. In some cases, as the
family Microj)odid(B or Swifts, some members of it are pamprodactylous, others anisodactylous.
A very frequent arrangement is that of toes in pairs, two behind and two before ; most such
yoke-toed birds have the properly zygodactylous arrangement, by reversion of the fourth or
outer toe, as in the Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, and others; but in the Trogons alone the second
or inner toe is the reversed one, and the arrangement is styled heterodactylous. The tarsal
envelop is never entire behind, as in the higher Passeres. Another curious peculiarity of the
PIC A RLE: PICA RI AN BIRDS. 539
feet is, that the claw of the hind toe is smaller, or at most not larger, than that of the third
toe ; and on the whole the hind toe itself is inconsiderable, weak if not wanting, not always
perfectly incumbent and apposable. The wings, endlessly varied in shape, agree in possessing
ten developed primaries, of which the first is rarely spurious or very short. (Notable excep-
tions to this occur in the Pici with spurious first primary, and in the Indicatoridce, with only
nine primaries.) A very general and useful wing-character is, that the coverts are larger and
in more numerous series than in Passeres ; the greater coverts being at least half as long as
the secondary quills they cover, and sometimes reaching nearly to the ends of these quills.
This is the common case among lower birds, but it distinguishes most of the Picaria; from
Passeres; it is not shown, however, in the Picidce and some others, as the Indicator idoe, Meya-
Ifemidce, and Rhamphastidce. The wing is quintocubital as a rule (with variability in Alcedi-
nidte and some Cypselidce'). The tail is indefinitely varied in shape, but the number of its
feathers is a good clue to Picarue. There are not ordinarily more than ten perfect rectrices,
and occasionally there are only eight, as in the Anis (Crotophaga') ; the AVoodpeckers have
twelve, but one pair is abortive ; there are twelve, however, in the Kingfishers, Puff'-birds,
Indicators, and some others ; ten or twelve indifierently in the Motmots. Pulviplumes occur
in the Leptosomatidce an«l Podargidce. The bill shows numberless modifications in form, and
lias its own specialization in nearly every family ; it assumes some of the most extraordinary
sliapes, as in the Hornbills and Toucans, and is seldom of the simjde style seen in a Thrush or
Finch; it is never hooked and cered, as in Parrots and Birds of Prey, nor soft and swollen at
the nostrils, as in Pigeons.
With this sketch of some leading features of the group (it will <niable the student to recog-
nize any Picarian bird of this country at least, and that is my main object), I pass to the
consideration of its subdivision, with the remark that a precedent may be found for any con-
ceivable grouping of the families that is not perfectly preposterous, and for some arrangements
that are nearly so. As well as I can judge from the material at my command, and relying
upon authority for data that I lack, the provisional arrangement adopted in the 2d-4th editions
(tf the Key must be entirely remodelled. Such is especially the case with the '' Cuculiform"'
Picarians, which I justly stigmatized (p. 446) as " a mixed lot requiring to be reconstructed
by exclusion of some of the fiimilies given as entering into its composition.'' There are at
least 24 Picarian families, seven of them North American, rouglily divisible into three groups
or series, which I ft)rmerly called Cgjjsclifonnes, Cnculifornies, and Piciformes, answering to
tlie CgpselomorjjhfB, Coccygomorphce, and Celeomorphcc of Huxley, or the so-called " orders ''
Macrochires, Coccyges, and Pici of the A. 0. U. But I am now satisfied that we can best im-
jirove up(Mi these divisions by efiiicing their alleged boundaries and remapping tlie 24 families
liy redistributing them directly into several more than three suborders or superfamilies. Such
ran be satisfactorily established, primarily upon stnmg anatomical grounds, secondarily U{)on
good external characters. The structural modifications most serviceable for classification are :
]iresence or absence of the ambiens muscle ; the disposition of the digits and especially of their
Hexor tendons ; conformation of the bony palate, sternum, and bones of the wing; presence or
absence of colic cfeca, as curiously related to the condition of the elpeodochon ; and various
peculiarities of tlie pterylosis, such as the presence or absence of aftersluifts, pulviplumes, and
tuft on the oil-gland, condition of the dorsal and ventral tracts, number of remiges and roc-
trices, etc. The arrangement of the carotid arteries is also to be taken into account. Details
of external form are insignificant in comparison with such morphological characters as those
just indicated, and may even bo deceptive; fi)r the superficial resemblance is sliglit between
some chisely related families, and conversely. Thus, the great helmeted II(»rnbills are specially
related to the small slender-billed lIoo]>oes; the Toucans, witli their enormous bills, behmg to
the series vvhidi includes the Barbels, I'uti'-birds. Jacaiiiars, and Woodpeckers; and otlier sucii
instances could be cited.
540 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PIC ARI^.
There are more than 1,800 species of Picarice, and the order as a whole is cosmopolitan.
But it is richest in geneni and species in the tropical regions of either hemisphere, and most
of the families occur only in limited areas, especially the Ethiopian and neotropical. Thus,
the Leptosomatidae are peculiar to Madagascar, and the Todidce to the Antilles. Exclusively
Ethiopian are the Irrisoridce, Coliidce, and Musophagidce ; Ethit)pian and Oriental are the
Indicator idee, Upupidre, Bucerotidce, Meropidce, Coiaciidce, and three of these families (not
Indicatoridte or Bucerotidce) are represented in Europe. Exclusively neotropical are the
Rhamphastidce, GalbuUdce, Bucconidce, Momotidie, and Steatornithidee ; while the Trochilidee
are characteristic of the same region, but have a few nearctic representatives. The PodargidfB
are Oriental and Australian. Two families, Trogonidce and Capitonida, are remarkable in
being represented alike in the tropical portions of both hemispheres. The Alcedinidce are
widely dispersed in the Old World, with one American genus. Finally, the Micropodidce,
Capriimdgidce, Picidce, and CucuUdce are well represented in both temperate and tropical
regions of both hemispheres.
The very numerous genera fall in at fewest the foregoing 24 families, which are universally
recognized. The o}>en questions are, whether a family Maeropterygidce should not be dis-
sociated from the Micropodidce, a family Nyctibiida from the Cajn'imulgida, a family Centro-
podidm from the CucuUdce., and the families Picumnidce and lyngidce from the Picidce.
Without prejudice to these points, the 24 conceded families may be disposed in nine superfam-
ilies or suborders, according to the following arrangement, which is much more natural than
that given in former editions of the Key. The seven North American families, representing
as many major groups, are marked with the asterisk, and will be fouud more fully characterized
beyond, under their respective heads.
Natural Analysis of Suborders and Families of Picarls;.
A. Anomalogonatous ; ambiens absent.
a. Formula A only, without B, X, or Y, i. e. femorocaudal present, accessory femorocaudal, semitendinosus, and acces-
sory semitendinosus absent. Nude oil-gland and no caeca ; spinal pteryla with narrow apterium. Sternum en-
tire behind. Tensor patagii brevis peculiar.
aa. Feet anisodactylous. Palate "schizoguathous." One family, American, and specially characteristic of the
Neotropical region I. TROCHILI
*1. Hummingbirds. Bill tenuirostral, and tongue peculiar. Rectrices 10; secondaries only (!. A nest;
eggs 2, white 1- Fam. Trochilid^
bb. Feet picarian, sympelmous and anisodactylous or pamprodactylous. Palate "aegithognathous." One family
of both hemispheres (or two) 11. CTPSELI
*2. Swifts. Bill fissirostral, and tongue not peculiar. Rectrices 10, often mucrouate. A nest ; eggs plural or
single, white 2. Fam. MiCEOPODiDiE
(Note. Sternum entire, phalanges 2-3-3-3, eggs plural, in Micropodina. Sternum entire, phalanges 2-3-
4-5, eggs plural, in Chieturince. Sternum fenestrate, phalanges 2-3-1-5, egg single, in Macropteryginoe or
Fam. MACROPTERYGin>E.)
b. Formula including X, without B ; usually A X T, sometimes A X or X Y. Oil-gland and caeca variable. Spinal
pteryla variable.
cc. Feet passerine, schizopelmous (to beyond bases of toes, where desmopelmous) and anisodactylous. (Formula
A X Y.) Palate desmognathous. Manubrium sterni acute. Tufted oil-gland and no csBca. Sinistrocarotid.
Bill tenuirostral ; tongue lipoglossine. Sternum not entire. Spinal pteryla forked in scapular region. After
shafts rudimentary or none. Two Old World families III. UPUP.^
3. Wood Hoopoes. Sternum 2-fenestrate. Nostrils lateral, operculate. Plumage metallic ; no crest. Tail long,
graduated. African ; 3 genera, Irrisor, Scoptelus, Bfiinopomaslus 3. Fam. Irrisorid.«:
4. Ground Hoopoes. Sternum 2-notched. Nostrils superior, non-operculate. Pliunage non-metallic ; a large
compressed crest. Tail short, square. African and Eurasian ; one genus, Upupa .... 4. Fam. Upupid.e
dd. Feet picarian, sympelmous and anisodactylous, and more or less syndactylous (toes 3 in front, 1 behind ; the
former more or less united in a fleshy sole). Palate desmognathous. (Formula A X Y, except in Alcedinidw.
Oil-gland and caeca variable.) Eggs white. Five families.
IV. HALCYONES
5. Hornbills. Sternum 2-notched at most. Skeleton pneumatic. Tufted oil-gland and no caeca. Carotids two,
one or none functional. Pterylosis peculiar ; spinal tract defective in cervical region, no aftershafts, no down-
feathers, eyelids lashed. Rectrices 10. Bill enormous, helmeted, or otherwise peculiar. Tongue lipoglossine.
PICARI^: PIC ART AN BIRDS. 541
Chiefly Oriental and Austromalayan (subfamily Bucerotincx), but also Ethiopian (subfamily ^Mcort'inop); about
60 species 5. Finn. Bucerotid.*;
*6. Kingfishers. (Formula A X.) Sternum 4-notched. Tufted oil-gland and no CiEca. Bicarotidean. No spinal
space and no aftershafts. Rectrices 12 as a rule, 10 in Tanysiptera. Feet thoroughly syndactylous (3-toed in
two genera by loss of 2d toe). Bill long, but more or less fissirostral ; tomia not serrate (exc. Syma). Tongue
lipoglossine. Two subfamilies, chiefly Old World, only one genus American G. Fam. AlcedisidjE
7. Mutmots. Sternum 4-fenestrate. Oil-gland nude or slightly tufted; no caeca. Bicarotidean. No spinal
space ; plumage aftershafted. Rectrices 12, in Baryphthenrjus 10, the middle pair long and usually spatulate.
Bill serrate. Neotropical 7. Fam. Momotid*
8. Todies. Sternum 4-notched. Tufted oil-gland and 2 caeca. Bicarotidean. No spinal space or fork. Rectrices
12, short, even. Bill long, flat, obtuse, minutely serrulate. Eggs plural, white. Nest burrowed un^ler ground.
Antillean ; one small geuus, Todus 8. Fam. Todid^
9. Bee-eaters. Sternum 4-uotched. Nude oil-gland and 2 caeca. Carotids variable. A spinal space. Toes syn-
dactylous. Plumage aftershafted. Rectrices 10, 12 ?. Bill tenuirostral. African and Eurasiatic ; 2 subfam-
ilies, Meropina; and yyctiornithinre y. Fain. Meropid^
ee. Feet picarian, sympelmous and pamprodactylous (4 toes in front). Formula A X Y. Palate desmognathous ;
no vomer nor basipterygoids. Tufted oil-gland and no caeca. Sinistrocarotidean. Plumage aftershafted.
Spinal pteryla simple in scapular region. Sternum 4-notched. Rectrices 10. A nest ; eggs white. One fam-
ily, Etliiopian V. PAMPRODACTYLI
10. Colics. Bill short and stout. Tail very long. One genus, Colitis (including Bhabdocolius and Crocolius),
of about 9 species 10 Fam. Coi^uvx
ff. Feet picarian, sympelmous and anisodactylous (in one family somewhat zygodactylous). Palate various. Nude
oil-gland, or none ; caeca. Spinal pteryla furcate in scapular region. Five (or six ?) families VI. CORAf 'liE
11. Kirumbos. Palate desmognathous. Fourth toe versatile; foot thus pseudozygodactylous, Formula A X Y.
A pair of uropygial powder-down patclies ; plumage aftershafted ; frontal antise plumose ; sexes unlike, <f
metallic. Rectrices 12. Bill stout ; nostrils anterior. One Madagascan genus, of one or two species
11. Leptosomatid^
12. Rollers. Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoids rudimentary ; vomer attenuate. Formula A X Y. No pow-
der-down. Two carotids. Nude oil-gland. Plumage aftershafted, alike in both sexes, non-metallic, but
brilliant. Rectrices 12. Bill stout ; nostrils subbasal. Two subfamilies ; Coraciinw, two arboreal, diurnal
genera, Eurasiatic and African ; and Brac/iypteraciiiiw, three terrestrial, somewhat nocturnal genera, con-
fined to Madagascar 12. Corachd.e
*13. Goatsuckers. Palate schizognatlious ; basipterygoids small ; palatines expanded posteriorly ; vomer trun-
cate in front. Two carotids. Sternum 2- or 4-notched. Nude oil-gland, small. Plumage aftershafted. Rec-
trices 10. Bill very small, weak, but deeply fissirostral. Habits partly nocturnal. No nest ; young downy :
eggs normally 2, colored or colorless. Nearly cosmopolitan 13. Caprimcloid.«
(Note. No powdtr-doivn, sternum 2-notclied, phalanges 2-.3-4-4, middle claw pectinate, and bill not toothed,
in CaprimulgiiKT ; powder-down, sternum 4-notched, phalanges normal, 2-3-4-5, no pectination, and bill
toothed in Xyctibiinre or fam XvrTiBiin.K )
14. Frofj-months. Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoids rudimentary ; palatines expanded in lateral processes.
Sternum 4-notched. No oil-gland (/'oi/i/ );/»,?) ; uropygial powder-down patches (not i\\ ^Fgollielesf). Rectrices
10. Phalanges normal, 2-3-1-5, and claw not pectinate. Rictus enormous. Habits nocturnal. A nest; eggs
white or colored ; young downy. Oriental and Australian. Podurgus and Batrachoslomus, of the subfamily
Poilarginw, nostrils basal ; ^gotheles, of the subfamily ^gothehnce, nostrils subterminal
14. Fam. Podarqid*
15. Oil-birds. Peculiar in the fornuila X Y, and otherwise ; perhaps should stand alone as a suborder, Sleator-
nithes, related to the Owls. Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoids develope 1 : palatines contracted. Sternum
2-notched. Large nude oil-gland. Two carotids. Bronchial syringes. Skull owl-like. Rectrices 10. One
genus. Neotropical 15. Fam. Steatornithid.k
gg. Feet picarian in a peculiar way, heteropelmous and heterodactylous (zygodactylous, but by reversion of second
toe). Formula A X (as in Kingfi.shers). Palate schizognathous ; basipterygoids present. Nude oil-gland and
2 small c*ca. Sternum 4-notched. Sinistrocarotid. General pterylosis passerine ; spinal pteryla simple ;
plumage aftershafted. Rectrices 12. One family, of both hemispheres VII. TROGONES
*1C. Trogons. Bill stout, serrate or smooth IC. Tkooonid.e
hh. Feet picarian, antio|>elmou8 and perfectly zygodactylous (in the usual way, by reversion of fourth toe ; hallux
wanting in certain .'i-toed genera). Formula including X, usually al.so Y. Palate and carotids variable. No
basipterygoids. Oil-gland variable. Aftershafts small or vestigial. Spinal pteryla simple. Sternum and tensor
patagii brevis characteristic. Wing-coverts tending to reduction to passerine Bmallness. Six (or eight ?)
families VIII. PICI
•17. Woodpeckers. Palate of the peculiar structure called pnurognathous ; vomers paired. Formula A X Y
(with some exceptions). Maiuibrlum storni furciitc. Sinistrocarotid. Tufted oil-gland and no rjrca. Syrinx
broncho-tracheal, with om- p.iir of intrinsic and one of extrinsic niuscles. Wing-coviTt.s posxerine. Rectrices
normally 12, one pair spurious. Bill peculiar ; fong\ie usually lumbriciforni. Hallux luis.shig In five genera.
Nest in holes ; eggs plural, wliite. Nearly cosmopolitan ; three subfamilies, /'irimr with rigid acumiiinte rec-
trices, Pieumnina and lyngimr with soft rectrices, the two latter sometimes sciuirated as different f.tniilion
17. Film. rictD.«
542 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PICARnE.
18. Guide-birds. Palate called aegithognathous or schlzognathous ; vomer forked. Intrinsic syringeal muscles
one pair. Formula A X Y. Manubrium sterni acute. Sinistrocarotid. Tufted oil-gland and no caeca. Ven-
tral pteryla forked on throat. Wing-coverts passerine. Primaries only 9. Rectrices 12 (in /rerfica/or), or 10
(in Prodoiiscus). Bill moderate. Two genera, African and Asiatic 18. Fam. iNDicATORiDiE
19. Barbels. Palate called aegithognathous or desmognathous ; vomer forked. Formula A X Y. Manubrium
sterni acute. Sinistrocarotid. Tufted oil-gland and no cseca. Syrinx simply broncho-tracheal, without in-
trinsic muscles. Ventral pteryla forked. Wing-coverts passerine. Rectrices 10. Bill moderate, highly
bristly. About 30 Old World genera ; 2 genera (Capito and Tetragunops) Neotropical
19. CAPIT0N1D.E (or MegALjEMID«)
20. Toucans. Palate desmognathous ; vomer truncate. Nasals holorhinal ; no basipterygoids. Formula A XY.
Manubrium sterni acute. Sinistrocarotid, as a rule. Tufted oil-gland and no caeca. Plumage aftershafted.
Wing-coverts passerine. Rectrices 10. Bill enormous ; tongue macroglossine, horny, and feathery. Nest in
holes in trees ; eggs white. Five or more Neotropical genera ; 50 or more species . 20. Fam. Rhamphastid.*;
21. Jacamars. Formula A X Y or A X. Bicarotidean. Nude oil-gland, but caeca developed. Ventral pteryla
branched in gular region ; plumage brilliant, aftershafted ; wing-coverts subpasserine. Rectrices 12 (radac«d
to-10 in two genera). Hallux missing in one genus (Jacamaralcyon) ; feet somewhat syndactylous. Bill tenui-
rostral, with keeled gonys and' ridged culmen. Nest in burrows. Eggs 2, white. Neotropical. GalbuUnce,
5 genera ; Jacamaropinw, one genus 21. Fam. GrALBULlDiE
22. Puff-birds. Palate desmognathous. Formula A X Y ? Bicarotidean. Nude oil-gland, but large caeca.
Ventral pteryla unbranched in gular region ; plumage dull, not aftershafted ; wing-coverts not passerine.
Rectrices 12. Bill stout, with flat gonys. Nest in burrows. Eggs 2, white. Neotropical ; genera 7 or more.
22. Fam. Bucconid^
B. Homalogonatous ; ambiens present.
Formula A B X Y or A X Y ; i. e. femorocaudal present, its accessory present or absent, semitendinosus and its
accessory present.
Feet picarian, desmopelmous and zygodactylous (in the usual way by reversion of 4th toe ; hallux always present).
Palate desmognathous. Spinal pteryla forked in scapular region IX. COCCYGES
*23. Cuckoos. Feet perfectly zygodactylous. Nude oil-gland and 2 caeca. Plumage not aftershafted. Rectrices
10 (8 in Guira and Crotophaga). (Formula normally A X Y, but A B X Y in Centropus, etc ) Syringes vari-
able. Cosmopolitan ; genera upward of 40, in several subfamilies 23. Fam. CuculiDjK
24. Turacoiis. Feet imperfectly zygodactylovis ; fourth toe versatile. Tufted oil-gland and no caeca. Plumage
aftershafted. Rectrices 10. (Formula A B XY.) Ethiopian; genera 6 24. /^«»». Musophagid^
It must be obvious, from the foregoing exhibit, that no linear arrangement of the groups
can possibly exhibit tlieir various interrelations; and consequently, any sequence of the families
we may adopt becomes a choice of evils. By common consent, the highly specialized Tro-
chilidce stand at or near the '* head " of the series, and near or next to them come the Micro-
podidce (Cypselidce). Again, the homalogonatous Cuciilidce and Musophagidce, differing most
from all the rest, and even hinting at gallinaceous affinities, are best put at the " foot " of the
series. But between these extremes there is room for wide difference of opinion in arranging
the families of the whole order, even when we have only those of North America to deal with.
It will be observed that our seven families represent as many of the whole number of suborders,
only the Pamprodactyli (the Colies) and the Upupce being unrepresented in our fauna. Now
the XTpupce are certainly "high" in the Picarian series, with their passerine feet, etc. — so
high that Salvin makes them head the order, even taking precedence of the TrocMlidce. Yet
their closest relationships are with the BuceroUdce, or Hornbills ; and to bring out this fact I
am obliged, in the foregoing schedule, to bring in the Halcyones next after the UpnpcE. But
this arrangement has the disadvantage of throwing the Caprimidgidce far out of their unde-
niable bearing upon the Cypselidce, and so upon the Trochilidce ; for the actual relationships of
these three families are so close that with most authors they form one suborder — the so-called
Macrochires, Cypseliformes, or CypselomorplicB. In a faunal work like the present it may not
be necessary to insist upon considerations involved in the relationships of the H(jopoes and
Hornbills; and it is easy to bring the Caprimnlgid/e next after the Cypselida;, by simply trans-
posing the places occupied by the Halcyones and Coracicv in the foregoing scheme. Making this
single change, the sequence of our seven suborders and seven families becomes : Trochili,
Trochilidce; Cypseli, Micropodidce ; Coraci^, Caprimnlgidce ; Halcyones, Alcedinidce :
Trogones, Trogonidce ; Pici, Picida; ; and Coccyges, Cuculidce. This arrangement seems
to me to be as " natural" as any tliat can be devised; it certainly brings out some good points.
TROCHILIDyE : HUMMINGBIRDS. 543
as in placing the yoke-toed (vvliether heterodactylous or zygodactylous) families together, after
the anisodactylous or pamprodactylous ones ; it heads the list with the Humuiers, and foots it
with the Cuckoos ; and it violates no obvious interrelations of the intermediate famihes. Hav-
ing these recommendations, this is the sequence I shall adopt in the present edition of the
Key.*
Suborder TROCHILI : Hummingbirds.
See p. 540 for analytical characters of this group, especially in comparison with the tissi-
rostral macrochirous type — the Ci/jiseli. The skeleton agrees closely, iu general, with that
of the Swifts, but has many minor peculiarities in detail, among which the most prominent are
the modifications of the facial bones conformably with the long slender bill. The palatal ar-
rangement is schizognathous. The deeply carinate sternum widens toward its uunotched
xiphoid border; there is no manubrium; the furculum is U-shaped, with rudimentary hypo-
clidium ; the coracoid canaliculate; the humerus very short and stout, the radius arched, the
metacarpus and phalanges greatly elongated. A chief anatomical peculiarity is the structure
of the tongue, which somewhat resembles a Woodpeckei-'s in being protrusible or capable of
being thrust far out of the beak by a muscular mechanism connected with the long horns of
the hyoid or tongue-bone, which curve up around the back of the skull ; the tongue is in efl'cct
a sheathed double-barrelled tube, appearing like two cylinders united for some distance, tlien
opening out with a thin lacerated edge. This structure is supposed to be used to suck the
sweets of flowers. There are no cseca, and the oil-gland is nude. The myological formula lacivs
the ambiens, accessory femorocaudal, semitendinosus, and its accessory, as in the Swifts ; the
flexor longus hallucis supplies the hallux and by a branch the second digit, besides sending the
remnants of slii)s to the third and fourth ; the second, third, and fourth digits are supplied as
usual by the flexor digitorum. There are no sterno-tracheals. There is one carotid artery, the
left. The pterylosis is characteristic. This is a highly monomorphic or monotypic group,
containing a single definitely circumscribed family, peculiar to America, and specially charac-
teristic of the Neotropical region.
Family TROCHILID^ : Hummingbirds.
Tenunostral macrochirous Picaricc. These beautiful little creatures will be known on
sight by their diminutive size and gorgeous coloration, without regard to their technical char-
acters. They are called Hummingbirds because their wings make such a noise in flight,
whirring so rapidly that the eye cannot follow their vibrations. The French know them as
oiseaux-mouches, or "bird-flies," for the same reason; their curious resemblance to insects has
struck every one who ever saw a Hummer pcnsed on misty pinions before a flower, when a
second glance might be refpiired to distinguish the feathered bird from a furred sphinx-moth. In
])owers of flight the Hummers are equalled by few if any birds, and certainly surpassed by none
iu the marvellous rapidity with which they dart through the sunsiiiue. ^
• The arranRement in former editions of the Key is: Ctpseliformes, Caprimiilffidir, Ci/psrlidir, Trochilidcr ;
CucuLiFORMEs, Troffoniilip, Alreiliiiklir, Cuciilktif ; Picifokmes, I'irkia-. This is bad, both in the construction of sub-
orders and sequence of families. In the classification atlopted in tlie A. O. U. Lists there is some faulty construction of
three major groups as in Key, with an improvement in their sequence. Reversing the A. O. U. arrangement, which pro-
ceeds from lowest to highest, in order to correctly exhibit its relations with the foregoing, we find it to be : Order Macro-
CHtREs ; Suborder Trix hili, Troc/iilitftr ; Suborder Cypseli, Afitropoilidir ; Suborder Caprimuloi, Caprimiilgitlir. Order
Pici ; no suborder, /'Iriilir. Order Coccyges ; Suborder Alcyones. Alcedini<l(r : Sahorder Trooones, Trogonuiir ; Sub-
order CucuLi, Ciiruliilir. In the Standard Natural History, Dr. Stejneger judiciously recognizes the seven North Amer-
ican superfaniilies of Picarian birds ; but their sequence is less happy, especially in the wiile separation of C(ij>ritiiul(jiit(r
from Ciijisilidir and Trm/iilidir His seipience rever.sed, or from highest to lowest, is, for the foregoing families : Tro-
chilidir, Miiiiiiiodidrr, Tniiioiiidir, J'icidtr, Alcriliiiidir, Cfipriiniilijiiltr, Cuciilidtr. Both the numl>er and the sequence of
groups, so far as those of North America are concerned, as given in the foregoiug text, are identical with those presented
iu the British Museum Catalogues.
544
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARl.I^ — TROCHILI.
The flying-apparatus, as in the Swifts, presents a very deep-keeled entire sternum, for
attachment of powerful pectoral muscles; a very short upper-arm, but the distal segments of
the fore limb lengthened, particularly the hand, bearing a long, thin-bladed, or even falcate
\if
Fig. 354. — Hummingbirds. (From Michelet.)
wing ; primaries 10, the 1st usually
longest ; secondaries reduced to 6, and
very short. Tail of 10 rectrices, but
otherwise too variable to be character-
ized, presenting almost every pecu-
liarity in size and shape as a whole, in
size and shape of individual feathers,
and often difl'ering in form as well as
color in the opposite sexes of the same
species. Feet extremely small and
weak, unfit for progression, formed ex-
clusively for perching ; tarsi naked or
feathered. Hind toe incumbent, as in
Passerine birds. Claws all large, sharp
and curved. The bill exhibits the
tenuirostral type in perfection, being
long and extremely slender for its
length ; it is usually straight, subulate
or awl-shaped, or with lancet-shaped
tip; it is often decurved, sometimes
recurved, and again bent almost at an angle ; in length it varies from less than the head to
more than all the rest of the bird. The cutting edges of the mandibles are inflected, and either
serrate, serrulate, or smooth ; the rictus is devoid of bristles. The nostrils are linear, with a
supercumbent scale or operculum, sometimes naked, oftener feathered. In size the Hummers
average the least of all birds, the giants among them alone reaching a length of 6 or 7 inches,
the pygmies being under 3 inches ; the usual stature is 3 or 4 inches. In a few the coloration
is plain, or even sombre; most have glittering iridescent tints — "the most gorgeously bril-
liant metallic hues known among created things." The sexes are usually unlike in color.
Hummingbirds, like poets, belong to the genus irritahile ; they are very nervy if not also
brainy little creatures, of greater courage than discretion, quick-tempered and extremely pug-
nacious— the Kingbird which has just whipped a Hawk or a Crow maybe assaulted and
worsted by the impetuous Ruby-throat. The food of Hummers was formerly supposed to be
the sweets of flowers. It is now known that they are chiefly insectivorous. Their little nests
are models of architectural beauty. The eggs are always two in number, elliptical in shape,
and white in color. The young hatch weak and helpless, requiring to be fed by the parents,
Hummers being thus of altricial nature. The voice is not musical.
The family is one of the most perfectly circumscribed in ornithology, and one of the largest
groups of its grade. So intimately and variously are the genera interrelated that every attempt
to divide it into subfamilies has proven unsatisfactory. Hummers are peculiar to America.
Species occur from Alaska to Patagonia ; but we have a mere sprinkling in this country.
The centre of abundance is in tropical South America, particularly Colombia. Nearly 500
speciniens are current. The genera or subgenera vary with authors from 50 to 150. Mr. D.
G. Elliot, one of the highest authorities upon the subject, gives 426 species, assigned to 125
genei'a. The latest monographer, Mr. Osbert Salvin, one of the most careful and critical
ornithologists who ever lived, arranges the Hummers in 3 series called Serrirostres, Inter-
medii, and Laevirostres, with 127 genera and 480 species. None of the known North Ameri-
can Hummers exhibits the extremes of shape of bill or tail which some of the tropical genera
TR OCHILIDJE : HUMMINGBIRDS.
545
illustrate; in only one (Calothorax lucifer) is the bill decidedly curved. Only one species is
more than 5 inches long — the magnificent Coeligena clemendee. Some curious shapes of tail,
including marked sexual characters in this respect, are exhibited by certain genera, especially
the wonderful Loddigesia.
Only one species, the common Ruby-throat, is known to occur in the East ; this was the
only one known to Wilson. Audubon gave four species, but one of them erroneously. Since
his time, many new forms of these exquisite creatures have successively been brought to light
over our Mexican bor-
der. In 1858, Baird
gave seven (one of them
Lampornis mango, erro-
neously, as Audubon liad
done). In 1872, in tlie
Key, I was able to in-
crease the number to ten,
but with two wrongly
given (the Lamponiix
and Agyrtria linncii).
The same ten, with the
two errors, were given
by Baird and Kidgway
in 1874. Within ten
years the discoveries
were so many, that, after
eliminating the two er-
rors, I was able to de-
scribe in 1884 no fewer
than fifteen perfectly
distinct species of United States Hummingbirds ; and I then stated that I had no doubt that
several others would in due time be found over our Mexican border. The sixteenth (Coeligena
clemendee) was added to the 3d ed. of tlie Key, 1887; the seventeenth and eighteenth (Tro-
chiliis violijugidaris and S. floresH) were installed in the 4th ed., 1890. I have now to
include the nineteenth (Basilinna Irucofis). But Afthi>< heUmfP is not confirmed, reducine: fur
the present the total to eighteen. Among the probabilities are Lamprolccma rhami and Cam-
pglopterus hemileucurus.
The discrimination of the females and young is difficult ; but witli the adult males there
should be no trouble. The following table is intended to enable the student to tell the genus
and species directly of any United States Hummer, if tlie specimen lie has in iiand be an adult
male. If a female or young, he must refer to the detailed descriptions. He will be much as-
sisted by the figures of generic details drawn from nature by Mr. R. Ridgway for Mr. D. G.
Elliot's monograpli, and kindly loaned to mv by Professor Baird.
Fig. 355. — Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, (f, 9i and nest, nearly nat. size.
(Sheppard del. Nichols sc.)
Analysis of Genera and Species of X. A. Trochilidoe (athdt males).
Frontal featliers not fully covering nasal scale. Tarsi feathered. Tail emarginate. Bill broad, in part flesh-colored.
Nasal scale entirely naked.
White stripe on head. Crown, face, and chin blue-black. Tail mostly rufous .... Unsilinna ranluti
Tail mostly blue llnsilinna leucotis
Nasal scale partly naked.
Crown green ; throat blue ; tail blackish Imhe Intirnslris
Throat grci-n; tail rufous; sides rufous Aiiii:ilscrrtinivriilrijir/Mlconota
Throat green 1 tail rufous; sides green .imizilis tzacatl
35
546
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PICA R LE —TRO CHILI.
Frontal feathers covering nasal scale.
Bill not perfectly straight.
Bill curved throughout. Tail forked, with almost filiform lateral feather Calolhorax lucifer
Bill nearly straight. Length over 4 inches. Throat and breast green Eugenes fulgens
Bill perfectly straight.
Length over 5 inches Caligena clemencioB
Length under 4 inches.
Crown as well as throat with metallic scales.
Scales lilac-crimson. Lateral tail-feather parallel-edged Calypte annce
Scales violet. Lateral tail-feather acutely falcate Calypte costm
Scales red Selasphorus Jioresii
Crown simply glossy, like back ; throat with metallic scales.
Middle tail-featliers unlike back in color.
Scales confined to ends of throat-feathers, their bases snow-white Stellula calliope
Middle tail-feathers like back in color ; throat-scales forming a continuous surface.
Lateral tail-feathers white-tipped ; none acuminate. Outer primary abruptly emarginate and acute
Atthis morcomi
Lateral tail-feathers not white-tipped ; some or all acuminate.
Throat-scales coppery-red ; back and tail greenish ; outer two primaries acute, falcate ; all the
tail-feathers acuminate, the two outer acicular Selasphorus alleni
Throat-scales coppery-red; back and tail mostly chestnut; primaries as in >S'. alleni; next to
middle tail-feather abruptly notched Selasphorus ru/us
Throat-scales lilac-red ; back golden-green ; 1st primary emarginate, turned outward, next ob-
liquely incised at end Selasphorus platycercus
Throat-scales opaque black, becoming violet posteriorly; back golden-green; primaries not
peculiar Trochilus alexandri
Throat-scales ruby-red ; back golden-green. Primaries not peculiar (Eastern)
Trochilus colubris
EU'GENES. {QfX. elyevr}s, eugenes, weW-horu.) Fulgent Hummers. Of great size : about
5 inches long. Bill much longer than head, not quite straight, flattened and slightly widened at
base, subcylindrical in continuity, with lancet-pointed tip. Frontal feathers extending on nasal
scale. Tail ample, in $ moderately
forked, in 9 double-rounded, all the
feathers broad, with rounded ends.
Tarsi feathered. A tuft of downy-
white at insertion of feet. Outer
primary but little narrower or more
falcate than the rest. Sexes nearly
alike in form, unlike in color. Bill
black; no white on tail of $ .
E. f ul'gens. (Lat. fulgens, glitter-
ing. Figs. 356, 357, 358.) Re-
fulgent Hummingbird. Rivoli
Hummingbird. Papantzin. $:
Tail simply forked. General body-
color shining golden-green above
and below, duller on belly and cris-
suin, on breast showing opaque
black when vievA-ed from before
backward. Crown glittering metallic violet in proper light, opaque black viewed obliquely
from behind forward. Gorget glittering emerald-green in proper light, opaque greenish -black
from the opposite direction. White marks about eyes. Tail like body, but more brassy.
Wing-coverts and lining of wings like body ; quills dusky-purplish. Large : length about
5.00; extent 6.50; wing 2.75 ; tail 1.75; bill over 1.00 from feathers on culmen, nearly 1.50
along gape. 9 : Upper parts like those of $, but crown like back. No emerald gorget,
whole under parts whitish, specked here and there with green ; throat with dusky specks.
Nests of Rivoli and Black-Chinned Hummers.
TROCHILID^E : HUMMINGBIRDS.
547
Fio. 357. — Refulgent Hummingbird, head, nat
6126. (From Elliot. )
Fio. 358. —Tail of the same, cf,
nat. size. (From EUiot.)
Wings as in ^, but tail very different ; double-rounded, both central and lateral feathers
shorter than intermediate ones ; middle feathers brassy-green, others the same iu decreasing
extent, increasing in
blackish toward
ends, and squarely
tipped with dull
white. Smaller:
length about 4.50;
wing 2.50; tail 1.50 ;
bill, however, about
as long. A large
and mo.st magnificent species, inhabiting the table lands of Me.xico, and N. to Arizona, where
it breeds in the Huachuca Mts. up to 6,000 feet or more. Nest often high in trees, saddled on
a limb, composed chiefly of vegetable down, lichened outside with cobweb; with a cavity, top
1.75 X 0.75 ; eggs 0.63 X 0.40, June, July. See Osprey, Jan. 1899, p. 65, plate.
CCEIjIG'ENA. (Lat. cceligena or cceligena, heaveu-born ; codmn or caelum, the sky, heaven ;
gignere, to beget, bear; iu passive, to be born.) Heavenly Hummers. Cazique.s. Of
greatest size; our species over 5.00. Bill longer than head, straight ; wings long and ample;
tail large, rounded, with broad feathers; tarsi feathered. Sexes nearly alike ; $ 9 with wliite
stripe on head and lateral tail-feathers white-tipped.
C. clemen'ciae. (To .) Blue-throated Hummingbird. Topiltzin. Adult J :
Above bronzed green, purer green on neck, more bronzy on rump ; crown dark ; a long sharp
wiiite postocular stripe ; gorget metallic azure-blue; quills and tail-feathers purplish-black,
the outermost pair of the latter broadly tipped with white. B(>low. dull gray ; flanks glossed
with green, under tail-coverts edged with white. Bill black. 9 similar, lacking gor-
get; throat gray. Very large : $ 5.40; e.xteut 7.50 ; wing 3.10; tail 2.00; bill about 1.00.
This magnificent species had long been known as an inhabitant of the table lands of Mexico,
when it was discovered over our borders in the Sta. Catalina Mts., Ariz., by F. Stephens,
May 14, 1884 : see Brewst. Auk, Jan. 1885, p. 85 ; Coues, Key, 3d ed. 1887, p. 879.
TRO'CHILUS. (Gr. rpdxtXos, trocJiilos, Lat. trochilns, a runner: a plover so named by
Herodotus : by Linnaeus transferred to Hummingbirds.) Gorget Hummers. Bill slender
and subulate, not widened at base ; frontal feathers covering
iiiisal scale. Tail in ^ forked or emargiuate, with lanceo-
late feathers; in 9 simply rounded or
double-rounded, with broader feathers.
Outer 4 primaries not peculiar ; hut
1st one strongly curved or bowed at
end inward ; inner 6 abruptly smaller
and more linear (in ^ at least). Tarsi
Fio. 3.")9. — Ruby- . , ,,.,, , , , , ,,.
throited Hun.mingbird, ''^I'^t'd. IJlH bhick. A metallic gorget
9 tiiii, nat. size. (From in ^, not ])r(donged into a ruff; no
Elliot.) , ^11-
scales on crown. 9 l;u'king gorget,
and tail white-tipped.
T. co'lubris. (Latinized fmm the 1)arbarous colihri. V\\x^.
355,359,360.) Kubv-tiiroatkd HrM.MiNfunuD. Scrap-
per. (J: Tail forked, its feathers all narrow ami ))ointed ;
no scales on crown ; metallic gorget reHecting ruby-rnl.
Above, golden-green; below, grayish, sides green; wings and tail (except middle feathers)
dusky-purplish. 9: Tlimat white, sometimes specked with ilusky ; tail double-rouuded, cen-
tral fcatliers shorter than next, lateral then graduated ; all broader than in ^ to near end, then
Fio. 360. — Ruby-throat«d HiimminK-
bird, (f , nat. size. ^Kroiu Elliot.)
548
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PICARLE— TROCHILI.
Fig. 361. — Alexander Hum
mingbird, tail of young (f and $
nat. size. (From Elliot.)
rapidly narrowing with concave inner margin ; tail with black bars, and lateral feathers white-
tipped ; no rufous on tail in either sex. Length of ^ 3.25; extent 5.00; wing 1.75; tail 1.25 j
bill 0.66. Young $ begins by winter to show the red. Eastern N. Am., especially U. S., abun-
dant in summer, generally seen hovering about flowers, sometimes in flocks, extends N. to the
Fur Countries, W. to the Great Plains, and in winter S. to Cuba, Mexico, and Veragua ; breeds
from Florida to Labrador. Feeds on insects and sweets of Howers. Nest a beautiful struc-
ture, of downy substances, stuccoed with lichens outside ; eggs 2, white, 0.50 X 0.33.
T. alexan'dri. (To Dr. Alexandre, of Mexico, its discoverer. Figs. 356, 361.) Alexan-
der Hummingbird. Black-chinned Hummingbird. Sponge Hummer. Size and general
appearance of T. coluhris. $ : Tail double-rounded ; central
emargiuation about 0.10, lateral graduation more ; the feathers
all acuminate, and whole-colored. Ujiper parts, including two
middle tail-featliers, as in T. coluhris. Gorget opaque velvety-
black, only posteriorly glittering with violet, sapphire, and em-
erald. Other under parts whitish, green on sides. Length 3.25 ;
wing l.^S ; tail 1.25 : bill from frontal feathers 0.75. ? : Tail
different from that of ^, both in shape aud color; simply
slightly rounded (without appreciable central emargiuation) ;
lateral feathers scarcely acuminate; middle feathers like back, darkening at ends; others with
broad purplish-black space near end, and white-tipped ; thus so closely resembling coluhris 9
that lack of decided emargiuation of tail is the principal character. No gorget, the throat
often with dusky specks. Eggs 0.50 X 0.32, indistinguishable from those of common Ruby-
throat. Pacific coast region from Lower California to British Columbia, aud E. to Rocky Mts.
and Texas ; winters in Mexico.
T. violijugula'ris. (Lat. viola, a flower, the violet, as if diminutive of a digammated form of
Gr. 'iov, ion, used for violaceus, Gr. lotLbrjs, ioeides, of a violet-blue color, and Lat. jugularis,
of the jugulum or throat.) Violet-throated Hummingbird. Adult $ : Above, metallic
golden-green ; sides dull-green ; flanks less green, the feathers tipped with brown ; gorgelet
violet glancing to steel-blue ; wings dusky-purplish with a buff line along edge of manus, the
coverts dull-green ; primaries broad to the tip, that of the first recurved ; tail slightly forked ;
its feathers broad except the last pair, which are narrowly linear ; shafts of the outer pair
abruptly angulated; middle feathers and base of seccmd pair metallic green ; rest dusky-purplish ;
under tail-coverts white with green spots. Length 3.60; wing 1.80; tail 1.20; bill 0.75. A
very dubious species,
known only from the
type specimen, taken
Apr. 5, 1883, at Santa
Barbara, S. Cala. (See
Bull. Coop. Club, Sept.
15, 1899, p. 99.) Tro-
chilus violajugulum \^sic^ Jeffries, Auk, April, 1888,
p. 168; A. 0. U. Committee's Suppl. List, 1889, p. 10;
A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 429. 1. T. violijugularis
COUES, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903.
CALYP'TE. (Gr. KaXvurfi, Kalupte, a proper name.)
Helmet Hummers. Crown of ^ with metallic scales
like the gorget, which is prolonged into a ruff; outer pri-
mary not attenuate ; tail of ^ forked, the outer feather abruptly narrow and linear, of 9
slightly double-rounded. No peculiarity of primaries. Bill ordinary, as in Selasphorus or
Trochilus ; black. No rufous color anywhere. Tail of ^ unvaried ; of 9 white-tipped. (Our
only genus with bill ordinary and scales on crown of ^.)
Fig.
nat. size.
3G3. — Anna Hummingbird,
(From Elliot.)
Fig. 362. — Anna Hummingbird, d", 9 ,
nat. size. (From Elliot.)
TROCHILIDJE: HUMMINGBIRDS. 549
C an'nae. (To Anna, Duchess of Rivoli. Figs. 362. 3fi3.) Anna Hummingbird. (^: Top
of head with metallic scales like those of throat, the latter prolonged into a ruff; the iridescence
lilac-crimson, covering whole head and throat, except a separating line through eye. Tail
deeply forked ; middle feathers very broad and rounded, the lateral all successively more nar-
rowed and linear, especially the outermost, but all M'ith obtuse ends. Outer primary narrower
than the next, but of no special peculiarity. Back and middle tail-feathers golden-green ;
other tail-feathers, like the wing-quills, purplish-dusky, without any rufous or white ; under
parts whitish, nearly everywhere glossed over with green. Length about 3..50 ; wing 1.90;
tail 1..3.5; bill 0.75. 9 like J excepting on head and tail. No metallic scales on head; crown
like back, golden-green ; throat whitish, with dusky, often metallic red, specks. Tail rounded,
slightest central emargination, all but middle feathers (which are like back) green (or gray) at
base, then black for a space, then white-tipped (no rufous). Under parts gray, with much
green gloss. California, common, resident; L. Cala ; S. Arizona; Guadalupe Isl.
C. cos'tae. (To The Marquis de Costa, of Chainbery, France. Fig. 304.) Costa Hum-
mingbird. (J : Metallic scales on top and sides of head as well as throat, latter prolonged
into a Haring ruff; iridescence violet, sapphire, steel-blue or purplish, not red. Tail lightly
forked ; middle feathers broad and obtuse, lateral narrowing successively, but outermost
abruptly narrowest, falcate — very noticeable. Outer primary simple. Back and middle tail-
featliers golden-green ; other tail-featlicrs like wing-quills, pur-
plish-dusky. Below whitish, the belly gray, glossed with golden-
green. Small: length 3.00-3.25: wing 1.75-1.80; tail 1.00; bill
0.67. 9 • No scales on head. Tail simply rounded, or with least
possible central emargination ; lateral tail-feathers narrowing, but
outermost not noticeably different from the next. Crown like back ;
throat like belly, with dark specks. Middle tail-feathers like back, yiq. .■?G4. — Costa Humming-
others green or gray, then black, then white-tipped. Entire under bird, cf, 9, nat. size. (Elliot.)
parts whitish. Compared with anna, our only other species with scales on crown in ^, costce
is smaller; throat ruff much more flaring; glitter entirely different (not red at all); tail less
forked, with ahiiost acicular falcate outermost feather; under parts less glossed with green.
9 costce lacks green gloss on under parts, which are more white, has much narrower tail-
feathers, and is smaller, in comparison with 9 anna. 9 costce more closely resemlilos 9 '•*^'<''-
luln calliope, but the latter has traces at least of rufous on tail and under parts. Also resembles
9 Trochiliis, but has cdl the lateral tail-feathers white-tipped. Arizona, Nevada, and southern
California, Utah, and New Mexico, and southward in migrations in L. Cala. and W. Mexico.
SELAS'PHORUS. (Gr. ae\as, selas, light; (f)op6s, pharos, bearing.) Lightning Hum-
MF.KS. Bill slender and subulate; frontal feathers covei'ing nasal scale. Tail in ^ 9 graduated
or rounded, not forked, and extensively* rufous or tij)ped with white ; central much broader
than lateral feathers. Details of shapes of feathers varying with species and sexes (see de-
scriptions, and figs. 365, JJ66). Outer primary, or 2 outer ones, of ^ abruptly attenuate, the
en<l bowed ; inner 6 primaries not abruptly narrower than those farther outward. Tarsi naked.
Bill black. A metallic gorget in ^, little or not produced into a ruff; no scales on crown (ex-
cept ill floresii — if this species belongs here). 9 lacking gorget, and tail white-tip|ted. Eggs
of our species indistinguishable, nearly or quite O..")0 X 0.;W.
S. flore'sii. (To Signor Floresi, of Mexico.) Floresi'.s IIum.miNGBIRD. Adult ^ : Crown
glittering red with metallic scales, like the gorget, as in the genus Calypte (to which the bird
may belong — in part at least): tlius distinguished from any other species of Selasphonis.
Miiidle ])air of tail-feathers green and rufous; outermost pair dusky; belly white ; sides and
flanks green. Length .3.25 ; wing 1.75; tail 1.40; culnien 0.65. 9 unknown. The alleged
species is not well established, eitlirr grnerically or specifically; and its occurrence in liie U. S.
is accidental. It was originally described from Bolafios, Mexico, by Goui.d, Mou. Troch. iii,
550
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. —PICAUIyE—TRO CHILI.
pt. xxiii, Sept. 1861, pi. 139. A specimea was taken at San Francisco, Cal., in May, 1885;
see W. E. Bryant, Forest and Stream, xxvi. No. 22, 1886, p. 426 ; Coues, Key, 4th
ed. 1890, p. 903; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [431. 1.]. The bird was needlessly renamed
Trochilus rubromitratus and Selasphorus mhromitratus ; see Ridgw. Auk, Jan. 1891, p. 114.
S. ru'fus. (Lat. rufus, reddish.) Red-backed Rufous Hummingbird. Nootka Hum-
mingbird. $ : No metallic scales on crown. Gorget glancing coppery-red, somewhat pro-
longed into a ruff. Tail cuneate ; middle pair of feathers broad, narrowing rather suddenly to
a point. Next pair broad, nicked or emarginate near end (fig. 365). Next three pairs succes-
sively narrowing gradually, but not even the outer becoming acicular. Two outer primaries
narrow, falcate, gradually very acute, the ends bowed inward. General
color above and below cinnamon-red, becoming more or less green on
crown, sometimes flaked with green on back, fading to white on belly.
Tail-feathers cinnamon-red, deepening to dusky-purplish at ends. Quills
dusky-purplish. Length about 3.50 ; wing 1.50-1.67, averaging 1.60;
tail ].30; bill 0.65. 9 showing same characters of tail and wing, but
less plainly. Coloration extensively rufous, but overlaid with green ; no
gorget, replaced usually by a few metallic feathers ; under parts exten-
sively white, but shaded with cinnamon on sides and crissum. Middle
tail-feathers glossed with greenish, darkening to black at end, and usu-
ally touched with cinnamon at base ; other tail-feathers extensively
rufous, then black, finally white-tipped. Length 3.50; wing 1.70; tail 1.20. On comparing
9 rufus with 9 platycercus, a great difi'erence in size of outer tail-feather is observable ; in
rufus it is only 0.12 broad, and under 1.00 long ; in platycercus it is 0.25 wide, and over 1.00
long. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, N. to Mt. St. Elias, Alaska ; E. to portions of Texas, Mon-
tana, etc.; S. in winter on the table lands of Mexico; the commonest and most extensively
distributed species in the West; noted as the northernmost species of the family. (This is
T. rufus Gm., the true " Nootka Sound Hummingbird ;" <J easily known by its cinnamon-
red back, and nick in next to middle tail-feather. S. henshawi Elliot.)
S. al'leni. (To C. A. Allen, of California. Figs. 366, 367.) Green-backed Rufous
Fig. 3G5. — Tail of .S".
rii/tis, nat. size.
Hummingbird.
cJ: Two
Allen Hummingbird. In generalities similar to the last
outer tail-feathers on each side very small
and narrow, the outermost almost acicu-
lar ; next little larger ; 3d abruptly
larger ; 4th from the outer smaller than
3d or middle pair. Upper parts golden -
green, dullest on crown. Under tail-
coverts, belly, and sides cinnamon, paler
on median line, white on breast next to
the gorget. Tail-feathers cinnamon,
tipped and edged with dusky-purplish.
Length about 3.25 ; wing 1.50 ; tail 1.18;
bill 0.64. 9 similar to 9 rtifus ; averaging smaller ; tail-
feathers narrower, especially the outer ones. Coast region
of California and northward to British Columbia; E. into
Arizona. (This is the bird often described as 9 rufus ; care-
fully distinguished by Henshaw, Bull. Nutt. Club, ii, 1877,
p. 53; considered by Elliot to be true rufus Gm.)
S. platycer'cus. (Gr. nXarvs, platus, broad ; KtpKos, Jcerkos, tail. Fig. 368.) Broad-
TAiLED Hummingbird. ^ : No scales on top of head ; crown like back. A gorget of scales^
not prolonged into a ruft". Outer primary attenuate, acuminate, ending acicular, the point
Fig 3G6. — Tail of
S. alleni, nat. size.
Gorget fiery-red.
Fio. 367. — Green-backed
Hummingbird, (f, nat. size.
ElUot.)
Rufous
(From
TROCHILIDJE : HUMMINGBIRDS.
551
turned outward ; next primary also narrowed, not so mucli as the Jst, its end obliquely incised
with a slight nick. Tail ample ; middle feathers scarcely or not shorter than the next, but the
rest rapidly graduated ; middle and several lateral ones broad, briefly acuminate, the outermost
narrowed linearly with rounded end. Above, including crown, golden-green ; two middle tail-
feathers purer shining grass-green ; lateral tail-feathers purplish-dusky, some of them with
narrow longitudinal chestnut edging only on one or the other web (a strong character of the
species : compare extensively rufous tail-feathers of the two foregoing species). Gorget glanc-
ing lilac-red : other under parts whitish, glossed with golden-green on sides and sometimes
elsewhere. Quills purplish-dusky. Length nearly or quite 4.00; extent 4.75-5.00; wing
nearly or quite 2.00; tail 1.35; bill
0.70. 9- Outer primary narrow and
falcate, but without special attenuation
at end. Outermost tail-feather nar-
rower than the rest, as in J* , but others
rounded at ends, not acuminate. Lat-
eral tail-feathers chestnut at base quite
across, then black for a space, then
white-tipped. Above, like ^ ; below,
no gorget ; throat wliite with dark
specks ; no green on sides, which are
more or less rufous, as in S. riifus 9 .
from which some care must be taken F.o. 3G8. - Broad-tailed Hummingbird, cf, $.nat. size. (From
in discrimiiuition. It is usually less Elliot.)
rufous below; middle tail-feathers entirely green, these having dark ends in ^ rufus; rufous
on lateral tail-feathers confined to their bases and of less extent than the black, while in 9
rufus the rufous equals or exceeds the black area ; next to middle tail-feather in 9 platycercus
green, with only rufous edging of outer web near base, short black end, and white tip; in 9
nifus the same feather is rufous on both webs to an extent equal to the green, black, and white
spaces all together. Though such details are not absolutely constant, they suflBce to distinguish
all the many specimens I have examined. Rocky Mt. region, U. S. and southward ; X. to
Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada; Sierras Nevadas of California; S. in winter to Guatemala.
AT'THIS. (Or. 'AtBIs, Atthis, Attic; also a proper name.) Attic Hummers. Crown of
(^ not metallic like gorget, which is prolonged into a ruff; outer primary of ^ attenuate; tail
graduated, the feathers rounded at end, the lateral ones black-barred and white-tipped in both
sexes (peculiar in this respect among North American genera). Bill only about as long as head.
Size very diminutive.
Note. —A. heloixft, the Heloise Hummingbird of the Key, 2d-tth eds., 1SS4-00, p. 405, and of A. O. U. List, Ist ed.
188C, No. 435, proves to have been admitted upon an erroneous identification of a young specimen of Stelbiln calliope from
El Paso, Texas: see Ridow. Auk, Jan. 1891, p. 115; A. O. U. Comm., Auk. Jan. ISiKi, p. 111. Its place is taken by the
following species :
A. inor'eoiiii. (To G.
Frean Morcom of Los Angeles, Cal.)
_^ I5IRD
Fio. 3C0. — Heloise Hummingbird, tf, ?. nat. size. (From Elliot.)
MoRCOM'.s Hl'MMINO-
Adult ^ : Outer pri-
mary attenuate at end, with
a needle-liko point, as in iS".
plittf/cercKs, but not bowed out-
ward. Tail graduated, tlie cen-
tral feathers, however, slightly
shorter than the next, all round-
ended, none notably narrowed.
No scales on crown ; those of
552
S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — PICA RI^E —TRO CHILL
throat produced into a ruff. Bill diminutive. Plumage unknown. Adult 9 '■ No peculiarity of
outer priinary. Above, including crown and middle tail-feather?, bright bronzy-green, inclin-
ing to grayish-brown on crown, and middle tail-feathers tinged with rufous on basal half, and
outer web edged with same nearly to tip ; other tail-feathers cinnamon-rufous on basal half,
then with a narrow green metallic bar, then black for 0.20, then tipped with white. Below
white, becoming cinnamon-rufous on sides and flanks, with a tinge of same on under tail-
coverts ; throat marked with spots and streaks of bronzy-green (gorget of ^ doubtless glanc-
ing violet, sapphire, and lilac, as in heloisce). Primaries plain purplish-dusky, as usual.
Length 2.95-3.00 ; wing 1.40 ; tail 0.75 ; bill 0.50. Huachuca Mts., S. Arizona, July 2, 1896 ;
type 153,886, U. S. Nat. Mus. Ridgw. Auk, Oct. 1898, p. 325 ; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk,
Jan. 1899, p. Ill, No. 435 (vacated by A. heloisce).
STEL'LULA. (Lat. stellula, dim. of Stella, a star.) Starry Hummers. No scales on
crown; those of throat confined to tips of the lengthened feathers, thus not forming a continu-
ous metallic surface, but set like stars in a fleecy, snowy bed. Tail of ^ slightly double-rounded,
the lateral feathers graduated, the central also shorter than the next ; middle feathers wnlike
back in color ; all broad, and rather widening to near the suddenly contracted ends ; outer
feather slightly incurved, the others ending about as acutely as a silver teaspoon. Outer pri-
mary simple. Bill longer than head, ordinary, but not entirely black. 9 like $ in form of
tail and wings. Size very diminutive.
S calli'ope. (Gr. KaXXtoVj?, Kalliope, Lat. Calliope, one of the Muses. Fig. 370.) Cal-
I-IOPE Hummingbird. ^ : Crown and back golden-green. All tail-feathers dusky, with
rufous at base and slightly pale tips.
Gorget violet or lilac, set in snowy-
white; sides of throat, and crissum,
white. Below, white, glossed with
green on sides. Bill yellowish below.
Length 2.75; wing 1.60; tail 1.00;
bill 0.60. 9 : Form of ^ ; color of
upper parts the same. No gorget ;
Fig. 370. — Stellula calliope, cf , nat. size. (From Elliot.) throat whitish with dark specks ; Other
under parts quite strongly tinged with rufous. A white mark under eye ; bill light at base
below. Middle tail-feathers green, not so golden as the back, ending with dusky ; others
green (or gray) for a distance decreasing on successive feathers, crossed with black, tipped
with white to reciprocally increasing extent, and touched with rufous at base, as in several
allied species ; but the small size, slight rufous on tail, and extensive rufous on under parts,
are characteristic. Eggs 0.47 X 0.30. Mts. of whole Pacific slope, U. S. and British Colum-
bia ; E. to Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico ; S. into Mexico.
CALOTHO'RAX. (Gr. kuXos, kalos, beautiful; daipa^, thorax, chest.) Lucifer Hum-
mers. Very different from any of the foregoing. Bill curved throughout, longer than head ;
but nasal scale covered as usual by feathers, and bill black. Tail deeply forked ; lateral tail-
feather shorter than next, and in our species filiform and acicular. Tarsi partly plumose.
Sexes unlike.
C. lu'cifer. (Lat. Xwci/er, the light-bearer ; ?Ma;, light, /ero, I bear. Fig. 371.) Lucifer
Hummingbird. Cohuatl. ^ : Above, bronzy-green ; gorget lilac-purple ; three outer tail-
feathers purplish -dusky. Below, white, bronzed with green on flanks. Bill black. Length
3.50; wing 1.50; tail 1.35; bill 0.75. 9: Above, like ^, but browner on head; no gorget;
under parts rufous ; belly white. Middle tail-feathers bronzy-green ; next green tipped with
black ; rest rufous basally, then crossed with black and tipped with white. Tail not so deeply
forked as in ^. The 9 ™ay he known by the curved bill. Mexico to southern Arizona and
western Texas; introduced into our Fauna upon a 9 wrongly identified as "Doricha enicura."
(See Bull. Nutt. Club, ii, 1877, p. 108.)
TROCHILIDuE : HUMMINGBIRDS. 553
AMIZI'LIS. (Latiuized from amazili, vox barb.) Amazili Hummers. Belonging to a
group which includes Basilinna and lache; very unlike any of the others. Nasal scale large
and tumid ; nasal slit entirely exposed ; feathers extending
iu a point on sides of culmen, sweeping obliquely across
basal part of nasal scale, and forming at angle of mouth a
deep re-entrance with those of chin, which reach much far-
ther forward on interramal space. Bill light-colored, dark-
tipped, quite broad and flattened at base, thence gradually
tapering to the acuminate tip, slightly bent downward, the
curve most noticeable just back of the middle. Tarsi
appearing feathered nearly to toes, but really naked except
at the top in front. No lengthened ruffs or tufts about
head ; no metallic scales on top of head, different from those pj^ 371. — Lucifer Hummingbird. ^,
of upper parts at large; no special head- markings. Tail nat. size. (FromEUiot.)
ample, forked or emarginate, the feathers all broad and obtuse, with simply rounded ends.
No peculiar primaries, though the outer ones are narrower and more falcate than the next.
Of large size, usually 4.U()-5.()0. Sexes alike in form and color. An extensive genus, cover-
ing some 25 species, two of which are known to reach our border: foregoing characters more
particularly applicable to these. {Amazilia of former eds. of the Key.)
A. tzacat'l. (Apparently Aztec, ^acatl, grass, herbage ; given as the proper name of a certain
Toltcc chief.) Rieffer's Hummingbird. Dusky-tailed Hummingbird. Tzacatl. Adult
(J 9 : Above, metallic grass-green, or golden-green, more brassy on crown and rump; hnig
upper tail-coverts cinnamon-rufous. Wings purplish-dusky, their coverts like back. Tail
deep chestnut, the feathers edged and ended with bronzy-purplish. Throat, breast, and sides
metallic green, glittering emerald in certain lights on the former, on the latter duller and more
bronzy ; feathers gray beneath the metallic tips, and this color prevailing on abdomen ; crissum
rufous ; fiank-tufts fleecy white. Bill extensively light-colored, dusky at end. Length about
4.U0; wing 2.25; tail 1.60; bill 0.80. Differs from the next iu not having the under ])arts ex-
tensively fawn-colored. Lower Rio Grande of Texas, to S. Am. A. fiiscocaudata of 2d-4th
eds. of Key, 1884-90, p. 4GG; A. fuscicaudata of A. O.U. Lists, 188()-1)5, No. 438; but Tro-
chiliis fuscicaudata Fraser, P. Z. S. 1840, p. 17, is antedated by T. tzacatl De La Llave,
Registro Trimestre, ii. No. 5, for Jan. 18:33, pub. not before Mar. p. 48 : see Riciim. Auk, Oct.
18n!>, p. 323.
A. cerviniveii'tris chalcono'ta. (Lat. cerrinus, like a deer, cerriis ; iu this case meaning
fawu-colored ; ventris, of the belly ; Gr. xoXkoj, chalkos, brazen ; varos, notos, back.) RuFOUS-
BELLIED Hummingbird. Adult ^ 9 : Upper parts shining goldea-green, nearly uniform from
head to tail, but top of head rather darker, and with reddish gloss in some lights, and upper
tail-coverts somewliat shaded witli reddish. Metallic gorget of great extent, reaching fairly
on breast, glittering green when viewed with bill pointing toward observer, dusky-green when
seen in opposite direction. Less scintillating and more golden-green feathers extend a little
farther on breast and sides, and most of the under wing-coverts are similar. Belly and under
tail-coverts very dull rufous or pale cinnamon ; flocculent snowy-white patches on flanks.
Wings blackish, with purple and violet lustre. Tail large, forked about O.-'W; color intense
chestnut, having even a purplish tinge when viewed below ; middle feathers glossed with
golden-green, especially noticeable at their ends, and all the rest tipped and edi^'ed for some
distance with dusky. Length 4.00 or jnore; extent 5.50; wing 2.30; tail 1.50; bill 0.!»0.
Lower Rio Grande of Texas and southward. Only differs from the type form in paler belly
and crissum. Oberh. Auk, Jan. 1898, p. 32; A. O. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. I 12.
No. 4.39. {A))ia;ili(i cerviniventris of former eds. of Key and A. O. U. Lists.)
554
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARI^ — TROCHILL
Fig. 372. — Xantus Hummingbird,
nat. size. (Prom Elliot. )
BASILIN'NA. (Gr. ^aaiXivva, basilinna, a queen.) Queen Hummers. Head appearing
more globose than in any other North American genus, in consequence of non-extension of feathers
on base of upper mandible, where they do not reach opposite those on chin, leaving the turgid
nasal scale entirely exposed. Bill broad at base, tapering regularly to tip, with distinct supra-
nasal grooves; scarcely longer than head, straight. Tarsi feathered. Tail ample, all the
feathers broad and rounded ; nearly even, in ^ a little double-rounded by shortness of both
lateral and central pair of feathers, in $> simply a little rounded. No peculiarity of primaries.
Sexes nearly alike in form ; 9 lacking green gorget of ^ ; bill
iu (? 9 partly flesh-colored; ^ 9 "'ith white stripe on head;
no pure white on tail.
B. xan'tusi. (To L. J. Xantus de Vesey. Fig. 372.) Xan-
tus Hummingbird. Adult <?: Above, and throat, metallic
grass-green ; below, cinnamon-rufous ; face blue-black ; a white
stripe behind eye ; wings purplish-dusky ; tail purplish-chest-
nut, the central feathers glossed with golden-green ; bill flesh-
colored, black-tipped. 9 • Shining green above, including
central tail-feathers ; below, and face, pale rufous, whitening
about vent, and sides greenish ; head-stripe rufous, whitening
on auriculars ; tail-feathers, except central pair, chestnut, with dark terminal spot. Length
3.5U; extent 4.7.5; wing 2.10; tail 1.25; bill 0.72. Eggs 0.47 X 0.30. Cape St. Lucas, N.
to lat. 29°. "
B. leuco'tis. (Gr. XtvKos, lenkos, white ; ovi, wt6s, ohs, otos. ear.) White-eared Hum-
ming XICOTENCAL. Adult (J : Above, shining grass-green, more golden on rump, darker on
nape and occiput; f*;e and chin metallic blue; white postocular streak; throat, breast, belly,
and crissuni green, posteriorly mixed with whitish ; central rectrices like back, lateral ones steel-
blue, bronzed at tips ; bill flesh-colored, black-tipped. 9 wi^'i crown and nape dark brown,
the feathers edged with rufous ; black spot under the white streak ; below, dusky whitish ;
throat bufl" with dusky specks ; flanks with green spots ; crissum whitish with dusky specks ;
lateral tail-feathers tipped with grayish-white ; bill mostly black. Young ^ like 9 • Size of
the foregoing. Central America and Mexico to S. Arizona, where discovered on the Chiricahua
Mts. at an altitude of about 10,000 feet, by Dr. A. K. Fisher, June 9, 1894; Auk, Oct. 1894,
p. .325; A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 440. 1.
I'ACHE. (Gr. 'la;()j, /ffc/ie, a proper name. Fig. 373.) Circe Hummers, 'iii ear Amizilis;
with broad and not perfectly straight bill longer than head, reddish at base, and frontal feath-
ers partly covering nasal scale; supranasal groove very dis-
tinct. Tail ample, forked, with broad obtuse feathers ; no
wing- or tail-feathers peculiar in shape. Tarsi feathered.
Sexes, unlike in color.
I. latj^iros'tris. (Lat. latus, broad ; rostrum, beak.) Circe
Hummingbird. ^ : Above and below glittering green ;
more golden above, more emerald below ; throat sapphire-
blue ; tail steel-blue-black, the feathers tipped with gray;
flanks and under tail-coverts white. Bill reddish, tipped with
black. Length nearly 4.00; wing 2.00-2.25; tail 1.30, forked
0.35; bill 0.80. 9 above like $, but middle tail-feathers nat.
bronzy-green ; others bronzed at base, then broadly bluish, then white-tipped. Under parts
dark gray. Easily recognized among our species by the special coloration, as described, and
by peculiarities of bill ; in all our genera excepting lache, Amizilis, and Basilinna, the nasal
scale is covered by extensive frontal feathers. S. Arizona, S. W. New Mexico, and Mexico.
Fig. 373. — Circe Hummingbird, ^f,
size. (From Elliot.)
MICR OPODIDjE : S WIFTS.
555
Suborder CYPSELI: Swifts.
See p. 540 for characters of this compact monotypic group,
which consists of a single family, unless the peculiarities of the
genus Macropteryx (<jr Dendrochelidon) be evaluated at the rank
of another family. There is no question of the proper position
oi Cypseli ; fur, notwithstanding the obvious difference between
an extremely fissirostral and an extremely tenuirostral type of
bill, the Swifts are such very near relatives of the Humming-
birds, that the two might be combined in one suborder Macro-
chires. The skeletal and muscular cliaracters most useful in
classification are quite alike. Thus, there is a similar con-
formation of the palate; the same deep-keeled sternum, and
the same relative proportions of the upper arm, fore-arm,
and manus; but tlie Swifts have a less perfectly pas-
serine foot than the Hummingbirds, sometimes with
a different ratio of the phalanges, or reversed position
of the iuillux. The myological formula i-? identic<il,
in the absence of the accessory fcmorocaudal, sem-
itendinosus, and accessory semitendinous, as u(ll
as of the ambiens; and there is the same pecuh-
arity of the tensor patagii brevis. In both sub-
orders there are no cfcca, though the oil-irland
is nude; and in Cypseli the seven secondauch
are but one more than the minimum numb( i
found in the Hummers. Other features of th(
Ci/pxeli will be jxiinted out under the head ot
tlie only establislied family, commonly called
Cypseliche, but now known as Micropodidcc
Furthermore it need only be remarked hen
close supei-ficial resemblance between Swifts
simply mimetic; and it is not necessarj
trust also not required by the reader
"Key" thus far) to argue the differ-
Oscine Passerine and any Picarian
it the >tiikingly
,ind Sw.illows is
at this late day (I
who has turned the
ences between an
bird.
Family MICROPODID^
Swifts.
{Cypselidce of former edd.
of tlie Key.)
Fissirostral macrochiroi<<
angular when viewed from
eyes, unnotched, unbris-
Nostrils exposed, superior,
feathers tending to reach
loiii,', tiiin, and jiointed (frequently as lonir as the whtde bird); primaries acute and somewhat
falcate; secondaries extremely short and few. 'J'ail of 10 rectrices, variable in shape, often
mucronute. Feet small, weak, the cnvehip rather skinny than scaly; tarsi naked or teathered;
Fio. 374. — White-throated Swift, nat. size.
(E. H. Fitch.)
I'icaricc: Bill very small, flattened, tri-
above, with great gape reaching below
tied, about six times as long as ctilmen.
nearer ciilmcn than commissure; frontal
forward under them. Wings extremely
556 SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICA RLE — CYPSELI.
hiud toe frequently elevated, or versatile, or permanently turned sidevrays or even forward
(pamprodactylous) or the four toes tending to divaricate in right and left pairs ; lateral toes
nearly or quite as long as the middle ; anterior toes deeply cleft, with basal phalanges (in the
true Swifts) extremely short, penultimate very long, the number of phalanges frequently ab-
normal (2, 3, 3, 3, instead of 2, 3, 4, 5 ; see p. 133, fig. 40) ; claws sharp, curved, never pec-
tinate. Plumage compact, usually sombre and whole-colored, or only relieved with white ;
sexes alike and young little difi'erent (plumage softer, more varied, and young unlike adults, in
the genus Macropteryx). Sternum deep-keeled, widening behind, its posterior margin nor-
mally entire (exceptionally 2-fenestrate, in Macropteryx)] furculum stout, rather U- than
V-shaped. Volitorial ability very great. Nidification various, always peculiar. Eggs several
(except in the Tree Swifts), narrowly oval, white. Young hatched naked and helpless.
" One of the most remarkable points in the structure of the Cypselidce is the great devel-
opment of the salivary glands. In all the species of which the nidification is known, the
secretion thus produced is used more or less in the construction of the nest. In most cases it
forms a glue by which the other materials are joined together, and the whole nest is affixed to
a rock, wall, or other object against which it is placed. In some species of Collocalia, how-
ever, the whole nest is made up of inspissated saliva, and becomes the ' edible bird's nest ' so
well known in the East." (Sclater.)
The student will have observed that the characters of the MicropodidcB as above drawn
require several exceptions to be taken in the case of the genus Macropteryx (or Dendrochelidon) ,
which contains five or six species of East Indian Tree Swifts, difieriug notably from other
Swifts. The osteological peculiarities of these birds are decided in several respects, aftecting
the bones of the skull, sternum, fore-arm, tarsus, and toes (see Lucas, Auk, Jan. 1889,
pp. 8-13). The plumage is peculiar, approaching that of Caprimulgine birds; the egg is
stated to be single, and the nidification to resemble that of the Frog-mouths (Batrachostomus).
The departure of the Tree Swifts from Micropodidce proper is on the whole in the direction
of the^ Caprimulgi. If we exclude this remarkable genus as the type of a separate family
Macropterygidce or Dendrochelidonidce, the remaining Swifts form a well defined family of 8
genera and about 75 species, inhabiting all the temperate and tropical regions of the globe.
They are divisible into two subfamilies, mainly according to the structure of the feet ; and both
of these divisions are represented in North America.
Analysis of Subfamilies and Genera.
MiCROPODlN^. Front toes with 3 joints apiece. Hind toe lateral or versatile. Tarsi feathered.
Toes feathered. Tail not spiny Aeronautes
Ch.etorin^. Front toes with 3, 4, and 5 joints from inner to outer. Hiud toe posterior or lateral, but not reversed.
Tarsi and toes naked.
Tail emarginate, not mucronate C)/pseloides
Tail rounded, mucronate ChcBtura
Subfamily MICROPODIN/E : Typical Swifts.
Ratio of phalanges abnormal, the 3d an^ 4th toes having each 3 joints like the 2d ; basal
phalanges of all the anterior toes very short (fig. 40). Hind toe reversed (in Micropiis or
Cypselus), or lateral (in Aeronautes and Pamjptila). Tarsi feathered (in Micropus) ; toes
also feathered (in Aeronautes and Panyptila). This subfamily contains about one-third of
the species of Swifts, most of which belong to the genus Micropus. This genus is chiefly Old
World, but two South American species are referred to it by late authority. Panyptila is a
neotropical genus, to which our Rock Swift has usually been referred ; but in Panyptila the
tail is deeply forked, with acuminate lateral feathers (compare Aeronautes^ below). There
are two species of Panyptila, P. cayanensis and P. sancti-hieronymi. An interesting feature
is shown by the group of Palm Swifts, in which, as first pointed out by Hartert, there is a
MICROPODIDyE — MICROPODINuE: TYPICAL SWIFTS. bbl
curious sort of spurious zygodactylism ; for the toes are in right and left pairs, the third and
fourth toes being one side, the first and second on the other side. In the typical Palm Swifts,
constituting the genus Tachornis as now restricted and defined, the toes are naked. There
are several Old World species, and one West Indian (T. phcenicohia) . The other genus of
Palm Swifts has feathered toes ; its single species, Claudia squamata, inhabits South America.
The Palm Swifts " build tiny nests agglutinated with saliva to tlic leaves of palms," while the
species oi Micropus usually nidificate in holes in rocks, about buildings, etc, only occasionally
in trees. The most remarkable nests in. the whole subfamily are those constructed by the
Swifts of the geuus Panyptila, which glue together plunt-seeds to form a tube about two feet
lung, hung to the under side of an overhanging rock or tree trunk, with the entrance at the
lower end of the tube, and a shelf at its top inside, like a cornice or bracket, on which the eggs
rest. '
AERONAU'TES. (Gr. af)p, depos, aer, aeros, air, the air, atmosphere; vavTr)s, nautes, a
sailor; i. e. an aeronaut: well applied to these "sky-scrapers.") Sky Swifts. Rock
Swifts. Tail about ^ as long as wing, moderately forked, with stiffish and narrowed, but
not acuminate spiny, feathers. Wing pointed by the 2d primary, the 1st decidedly shorter.
Tarsi feathered to the toes; those also feathered to some extent. Hind toe elevated, lateral,
but not reversible. Front toes witli slight basal webs. Eyelids naked. Colors black and
white. Aeronautes Hartert, Brit. Mus. Cat. B. xvi, 1892, p. 459; Panyptila of all former
eds. of the Key : for the change of name, see above. The genus was wrongly united with
Micropua in the A. 0. U. List of 188G.
A. saxa'tilis. {\ji\i. saxatilis, rock-inliabitiug ; s«.n«n, a rock.) White-throated Rock
Swift. Black or blackish; chin, tliroat, breast, and middle line of belly, tips of secondaries,
edge of outer primary and lateral tail-feathers, and a fiank-patch, white. Forehead and line
over eye ])ale; a velvety black space before eye. Bill black ; feet drying yellowish. The
purity of color varies with wear of the feathers, some specimens being dull sooty brownish,
others more purely and even glossy blackish. The extent of white along belly is very vari-
able. The flank-patches are conspicuous, in life sometimes almost meeting over rump. Length
6.50-7.00; extent about 14.00; wing about the same as length ; tail about 2.()r), forked, soft.
Western U. S., Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, and S. in winter to Guatemala; N. to Montana
and Idaho ; E. to W. Texas and eastern foothills of the mountains, as the Black Hills of S.
Dakota, etc. ; migratory in most of its U. S. range, but resident on and near our southern
border; occurs in Lower California and on some of the islands; not yet known to occur in
Gregon, Washington, or anywhere N. of the U. S. ; breeds in suitable places throughout its
U. S. range. Thi.s is a large and beautiful Swift — a high-fiior of almost incredible velocity,
witli a loud shrill twitter, nesting in tlie most inaccessible cliffs, sometimes by thousands, in
May, June, and July. The nest is securely placed far in holes and crevices of rocks or indu-
-rated earths, usually at a great height; it is a saucer-like structure, about 5X2 inches, with
a shallow cavity, made of various vegetable materials well glued together with saliva, and
lined with feathers. Eggs several, in one instance 5, narrowly subelliptical, 0.87 X 0.52,
vhite. Tiie name of this bird seems as hard to fiiwl as its nest and oggs ! The species is un-
quostionably tlie Acanthylis saxatilin of WoODHOUSE, Sitgreave's Rep. Expl. Zufii and Col.
\i. 185.'3, p. (i4, type locality Inscription Rock, N. M. I stood on this very rock July .'{, 18()4,
and knew that Dr. Woodhouse's birds were flying in my face; hence Panyptila sn.ratilis
Coles, Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 182, Liter eds. 1884-90, p. 450, and now Atronautefi sa.ratilitt :
see my Birds N. W. 1874, p. 2(55, for particulars. Next, this Swift was described as Cypselus
melanoleucHf) Baird, Pr. Phila. Acad. 1854, ]>. 118; wiience Panyptila mclanoleuca Baird,
B. N. A. 18.58, p. 141 ; 3Iicropi(s mclanolcKCKs Uiixiw. Auk, July, Ir^f^l. p. 2.'{0: \. O. V. List,
1st cd. l-^st;. p. t*'j;} ; Aeronautes miUniolcucus Hartert, as above; A. O. !'• List, 1895,
No. 4-J5.
658 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. -PICARIM— CYPSELI.
Subfamily CH/ETURIN/E: Spine-tail Swifts.
Toes with normal number of phalanges , all but the penultimate ones extremely short. An-
terior toes cleft to base (no webbing). Hind toe not reversed, but sometimes versatile ; our species
have it obviously elevated. Tarsi never feathered; naked
and skinny, even on the tibio- tarsal joint. In the prin-
cipal genus, Chcetura, containing about two-thirds the
species of the subfamily, of various parts of the world,
the tail-feathers are stiflened and mucronate by the pro-
jecting rhachis. There are over 30 species of these
spine-tailed Swifts, in several sections of the genus, by
some systematists ranked as separate genera (especially
Hemiprocne) ; but they are much alike, and our familiar
Chimney Swift is a fair example of them all. Cypseloi-
des is an exclusively American genus of 5 or 6 species,
Fig. 375 — Chfetztrince. Head and mu- r. i . ■ . n^^ t ■ -,
cronate laii-ieatiier of Chwtura peiagica^nax. one of which occurs m our Country. 1 he third geuus is
size. (Ad. nat. del. E. c.) Collocalia, containing the Swiftlets or so-called Salan-
ganes, some 12 or 15 species of which range widely over warm and temperate parts of the Old
World from Africa to Oceania. The Swiftlets include such species as C. fiiciphaga, which
build the " edible " nests of their own saliva, more or less mixed with fiicus or other seaweeds,
mosses, etc.
CYPSELOI'DES. (Gr. Kv-<^eKos, kiipselos, Lat. cypselus, the European Swift, Cypselus
opus, now called 3Iicropus apiis ; eiSor, eiclos, form, likeness.) Cloud Swifts. Tail forked
tar emarginate, with obtusely-pointed but non-mucronate stifBsh feathers. First primary long-
est. Tarsi naked, skinny. Hind toe elevated, but perfectly posterior. Front toes cleft to
base. Nostrils embedded in feathers. Uuicolor. (Genus Nephoccetes Baird, 1858, correctly
JSfephcecetes, as in former editions of the Key, p. 457, where it is said to be "scarcely different''
from Cypseloides ; and I am glad to see that it has been replaced by Cypseloides in the A. 0. U.
Lists.)
C. ni'ger borea'lis. (Lat. nicjer, black ; borealis, northern. Our species is a variety of the
West Indian C wi^rer. Fig. 374.) Northern Black Cloud Swift. Adult i^ 9 : Entire
plumage sooty-black, with slight greenish gloss, little paler below than above; feathers of
head and belly with grayish edges. A velvety black area in front of eye ; forehead hoary ;
eyelids partly naked. Bill black ; feet probably dusky-purplish in life. Length 7.00 or more ;
wing the same; tail 2.75, forked nearly 0.50 in adult ^, merely emarginate in 9 j tarsus
0.50; middle toe and claw about the same. Young: Tail rounded; plumage dull black-
ish, nearly every feather skirted with white, especially noticeable on belly, rump, and upper
tail-coverts and inner wing quills; crissum mostly white; supposed to require several years
to perfect the black plumage. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U. S. and British Columbia; a
great black Swift still imperfectly known; supposed to nest in cliffs up to 11,000 feet:
ranges to about 13,000; crops found filled with Ephemeridce. The bird breeds in holes
and crevices in cliffs, often inaccessible, like the Rock Swift, in June and July, and it has
been observed in so many localities during the breeding season that it may be confidently
stated to nest in suitable places nearly or quite throughout its North American range. It is
migratory with us, arriving over our borders late in April, and returning in September. It
is more common in the Pacific coast region than in the interior, and ranges S. in winter to
Costa Rica. The West Indian habitat once assigned was an error, it being that of AT. niger
proper, from which our bird differs decidedly in being larger — average wing measure-
ments over G.50, instead of about G.OO. I am at a loss to understand why the A. 0. U.
micropodid.e—ch.eturinjE: spine-tail swifts.
559
persisted in refusing to recognize borealis as a subspecies till 1897, when it accepted the
position I had maintained in the Key since 1872 : see Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 12t), No. 422.
The bird is recognized as a full species by Dr. Sclater, and as a good subspecies by Mr.
Hartert; and Major Bendire also separates the two forms, though he does not venture to
differ from the A. O. U. in nomenclature (Life Histories, ii, 1896, p. 175). The differ-
ences are at least as great in size as those separating Chcetura vauxi from C pelagica. In
these days, when North American Ornithology has been thoroughly Brehuiized, with hair-
splitting and heart-rending super-refinements, the present case can only be explained as a
miracle.
CH.(ETU'RA. (Gr. x"''"'?' chaite, a bristle ; ovpa, oura, a tail. Fig. 375.) Spine-tail
Swifts. Tail short, less than half as long as wing, even or a little rounded, mucronate, — the
stiff spiny shafts of the feathers protruding like needles beyond the webs. First primary
longest. Tarsi naked and skinny. Hind toe elevated, but posterior. Front toes all of about
tlie same length, cleft to base. Feathers reaching to but not far below nostrils. Unicolor or
bicolor (our species one-colored, sombre.) Se.xes alike.
C. pela'gica. (Gr. TreXayioy, pelagios, Lat. pclagiciis, pelagic, marine, or oceanic; application
to this bird questionable. lu 1758 Linnaeus nauied it Hirundo pelagica, but in 1766 he
changed the specific term to ^;e-
I'lsgia. The IlfXacryoi or Pelasgi
were anciently a nomadic tribe,
and the implication of the term in
ornithology is supposed to be the
bird's migration, without any ref-
erence to the sea. Gr. adjectival
forms of the word are ntXairyiKos.
neXdcryios, ntXacryis, ireXacryids,
becoming in Lat. Pelasgicus, Pe-
Insgius, Pelasgis, Pelasgias, mean-
ing Pelasgian, Grecian, Hellenic ;
Pelasgia, noun, is found as the
name of a certam district of Thes-
saly. The adj. Pehtsgicus occurs
in Pliny, and pelasgica is the femi-
nine form of this, which I adopted
in the 2d-4th eds. of the Key.
But I now follow the A. 0. U. in
revertiug to pclagkri LiXN. 1758,
without prejudice to the (juestion
of what this word was intended to
mean. Figs. 376, 377.) Chi.m-
.NEY Swift. Chimney " Sw.vllow." " Chimney Sweep." Sooty-brown,
with a faint greenish gloss above ; below jniler, becoming gray on the throat ;
wings black; a velvety black space about eyes. Length about 5. (Ml or rather
more ; wing the same ; extent about 12.50 ; tail 2.(J0, even or a little rounded,
spiny. The sexes are quite alike, and the young hardly differ after tiioy are
fully fledged. Eastern L'^. S. and adjoining British Provinces, N. to lat. 54° in the interior,
W. to tiie Great Plains, S. in winter to Central America: migratory, and very abundant in
summer, but not known to winter within our limits ; migrates in March, April, Sept., and Oct.,
breeds thnnighout its North American range, mostly in ,Iune .-md .July. Like Swallows, which
this bird so curiously resembles, not only iu form, but in mode of lliiriit, food, and twittering
Fio. 37G. — Chimney Swift.
660
5 YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — PICA RIJ^— CORA CLE.
notes, it has mostly forsakeu the ways of its ancestors, who bred in hollow trees, and now places
its curious open-work nest of bits of twig glued together with saliva, inside disused or little used
chimneys in settled parts of
the country. In districts still
primitive, however, it continues
to use hollow trees, to which
it resorts by thousands to roost.
Not impossibly winters in such
retreats in a lethargic state !
The dry twigs for its pretty
basket -like nest are snapped
ofl' the trees by the birds in full
flight. No soft lining is used ;
the nest is shaped like half a
saucer, 3 or 4 inches across by
2 or 3 in the other width, and
less than an inch deep ; the
twigs used are from half an
inch to 2 inches or even more
in length, and a sixteenth to
Fig. 377. — Nest and Eggs of Chunuey Swift.
an eighth of an inch thick, usually much varnished over with the dried saliva. The eggs are
4-5, seldom 6, 0.70 to 0.80 long by 0.53 broad, thus narrowly elliptical, and pure white. So
great are the volitorial powers of this bird, that the sexes can come together on the wing.
C. vaux'i. (To Wm. S. Vaux, of Philadelphia.) Vaux's Swift. Similar; paler; rump
and upper tail-coverts lighter than rest of upper parts ; throat whitish. Smaller ; length 4.50 j
wing the same; tail 1.67. Pacific Coast region, U. S. and British Columbia, rarely in the
interior E. of the Sierras Nevadas and Cascade ranges ; S. in winter to Central America. Nest
and eggs as in the common species; eggs averaging a trifle smaller. This species still uses
hollow trees to breed in, but is already beginning to utilize chimneys.
Note. — One or two other species of this genus, representing the subgenus Hemiprocne,
may be expected over our border — especially the Collared Swift, Hemiprocne zonaris-
of Mexico, etc. This is a large handsome bird, blackish, with a white collar around the neck
behind, and a white breast ; length about 9.00; wing nearly as much; tail 3.00. The Half-
collared Swift, H. semicollaris, also inhabits Mexico.
Suborder CORACI-^ : Coracian Birds.
See p. 541 for characters of this group, framed to include the five families Leptosomatidcey
Coraciida;, Capritmilgidce, Podargidce, and Steatornithid(e. Only one of these, the Capri-
midgidce, is North American. In former editions of the Key, this family included the Podar-
gidce and Steatornithidce, and was brought under a suborder Cypseliformes, corresponding
exactly to the "order" Macrochires, of the present A. 0. U. classification, and including the
Trochilidce and Micropodidce. (It should be observed here that the original Macrochires of
Nitzsch included only the " long-handed " families, the Swifts and Hummers, as did also the
precisely equivalent Cypseliformes of Garrod ; but that the Cypseliformes of Coues, like the
Cypselomorplice of Huxley, combined the Caprimidgidce with the Cypselidce and Trochilida;.)
But the undeniably close relations of the Goatsuckers, Swifts, and Hummers are overbalanced
by the closer affinities of the Caprimulgiue Birds with the Rollers and Kirumbos ; hence the
present association of all the Coracian birds in one suborder. The Steatornithida;, a mono-
typical neotropical family consisting of a single species, Steatornis caripensis, the Guacharo
CAPRIMULGID.E: GOATSUCKERS. 561
or Oil-bird, is so peculiar in many respects that it is sometimes set apart in a superfamily or
suborder Steatornithes (see p. 541 for characters); otherwise the transition from the Caprimul-
gidce on the one hand, through the Podargidce, to the Leptosomatidce, and thus to the Cora-
ciidce, on the other hand. A curious evidence of affinity between these families may be
witnessed in the lofty tumbling of our Night-hawks, comparable with those aerial evolutions
which have given the Kollers their name. A marked feature of Coracian birds is the presence
of pulviplumes in some of the families. The conformation of the palate is too various to fur-
nish decisive indications; it is of a type called iegithognathous or schizognathous in one of the
families, but desmognathous in the others. The syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, or pseudo-bron-
chial, or bronchial; in the latter case there are of course a pair of syringes, as in Steatornis ;
the syringeal muscles are not more than one pair. The oil-gland is nude, if present ; there
are cfeca. The sternum is deep-keeled, 2- or 4-notched. The spinal pteryla forks over the
shoulders. Two carotids occur (always '^). The ambiens is absent ; neither is there any ac-
cessory femorocaudal, and in Steatornis the femorocaudal itself is missing ; the flexor digitorum
profundus, and not the flexor hallucis, supplies the hallux, by the sympelmous arrangement of
tendons. The feet are anisodactylous, in the Kirumbos imperfectly zygodactylous by versatil-
ity of the 4th digit ; in the true Goatsuckers this digit lacks one phalanx ; there are also some
other peculiarities of the feet, which as a rule are very small, weak, and scarcely fitted for pro-
gression, or even for perching in an ordinary fashion. The rectrices are 10 or V2 ; primaries
1(1; secondaries more than 7. The suborder as a whole consists of nocturnal Picarian birds,
with more or less resemblance to Owls; the Oil-bird is quite owlish, and even so diurnal a fam-
ily as the Rollers contains nocturnal species. The suborder as a whole is nearly cosmopolitan ;
but four of its five families inhabit restricted areas, and only one is common to both hemispheres.
Tliis is the
Family CAPRIMULGID^ : Goatsuckers.
(So called from a traditional superstition.) Fissirostral Coracian I'icarite, Head broad,
flattened; neck inappreciable; eyes and ears large. Bill extremely small in its horny portion,
whicli is depressed, and triangular when viewed from above, but with enormous gape reaching
below the eye, and generally with bristles at-
taining an extraordinary development. Nos-
trils basal, exposed, roundish, with a raised
border, sometimes prolonged into a tube.
Wings more or less lengthened and jjointed,
df-riving tlieir sweep mainly from elongation
of the distal joints and the feathers, tlie prox-
imal segment being short; of 10 primaries
and more than 7 secondaries; the latter not
so extremely short as in Clipselidcc AwA Tro- Fio. 378. -Whippoorwill, a aetirostral Caprimulgine.
,.,., rp ., -,, • , em (From Tenney, after Wilson.)
chiluhe. lail variable in shape, or 10 rec-
trices. Plumage aftershafted ; pulviplumes jirosent only in one genus (Xi/ctibius). Feet
extremely small; tarsus usually short, and partly feathered; hind toe very short, commonly
elevated and turned sideways ; front toes connected at base by movable webbing, and usu-
ally showing abnormal ratio of phalanges, the 4th toe having but 4 joints (p. 133, fig. 41) ;
middle toe lengthened beyond the sliort lateral ones, its claw usually pectinate (fig. iiSO).
Tlie small oil-gland is nude, and ca-ca are present. The arrangement of the palatal bones
is not desmognathous; small basipterygoids are present; tlie jtalatines are cxpandetl later-
ally; the vomer is truncate in front. The sternum is 2-notclied (4-notch<'d only in Xifcti-
bius). As thus defined (to the exdnsioii of I'odnrffiihr ami Stfalornithi<l(r, which used lu
562
S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — PICARIjE — CORA CLE.
be forced into this family), the Caprimulgidce are a defiuitely-circutnseribed, easily-recog-
nized group of about 20 genera and 100 species, of temperate and tropical parts of both
hemispheres. They are all more or less nocturnal, and have a certain resemblance to Owls.
The flight is perfectly noiseless; the plumage is very soft and lax, as in Owls, and the colors
are blended in the most intricate pattern. In certain exotic genera, either the wing or tail
develops a pair of immensely lengthened feathers. Thus, in the African pennant-winged
Cosmetornis vexillarius an inner primary of the ^ is prolonged into a slender streamer a foot
and a half long ; and in the related African standard-bearer, Macrodipteryx macrodipterus, the
same primary of the ^ is similarly elongated, with a bare shaft bearing a webbed spatula or
racket at its end. The African Scotornis climacurus has greatly produced central tail-feathers ;
but the peculiar development of rectrices reaches an extreme in the South American lyre-
tailed Goatsuckers, Macropsalis lyra and its congeners. The whole family is strictly insectiv-
orous, and consequently the species of temperate latitudes are migratory. None of the species
are nest builders, the eggs being simj^ly dropped in open places ; these are normally two in
number, generally colored, sometimes unmarked. The young hatch downy, but helpless. The
Caprimulgidce are divisible, according to the structure of the feet and other characters, into
two subfamilies : Nyctibiince, phalanges normal, middle claw not pectinate, pulviplumes pres-
ent, sternum doubly-notched, upper mandible toothed, containing one genus (Nyctibius) of
tropical America ; and Caprimulgince, comprising the rest of the family. The latter alone is
represented in North America. Our " Whippoorwills " are typically caprimulgine, and give a
good idea of the essential characters of the family; our '* Night-hawks" are more aberrant,
representing a particular section of the subfamily; but neither of these gives any hint of the
singular shapes which some of the genera assume.
Subfamily CAPRIMULCIN/E : True Goatsuckers ; Night-Jars.
Sternum singly-notched on each side behind. No pulvij^lumes. Bill not toothed.
Ratio of phalanges abnormal (2-3-4-4). Outer toe 4-jointed (fig. 41); middle claw pectinate;
liind toe very short, elevated, semi-lateral ; anterior toes movably
webbed at base ; lateral toes not nearly reaching base of mid-
dle claw. Tarsus very short, commonly much feathered (longer
and naked in Nyctidromus and Phalcenoptilus). Besides the
semipalmation of the feet, there is another curious analogy to
wading birds ; for the young are downy at birth, as in Prcccoces,
instead of naked, as is the rule among Altrices. The plumage
is soft and lax, much as in the Owls; the birds have the same
uijiseless flight, as well as, in most cases, nocturnal or crepus-
cular habits ; and some of them bear an odd resemblance to
Owls. Besides this fluffiness and laxity of the plumage, the
skin is very thin and tender; it is diflScult to make good speci-
mens of the Whippoorwills, and the curiously variegated blended
shades, of exquisite beauty, like the powdery coloration of a
moth's wings, are at best not easy to describe. An evident
design of the capacious mouth is the capture of insects ; the
active birds quarter the air with wide-open mouth, and their
minute prey is readily taken in. But they also secure larger
insects in other ways ; and to this end the rictus is frequently
strongly bristled, as in the Tyrannidce and Capitonidce. The most usual quarry consists of
nocturnal or crepuscular moths and beetles. In all our genera except Chordeiles, the rictal
bristles are 1.00 or more in length, in a firm regular series along gape — relatively longer and
Fig. 379. — Night-hawk, a gla-
brirostral Caprimulgine. (From Ten-
ney, after Wilson. )
caprimulgidjE — caprlml^lgin.E: true goatsuckers. 563
stiffer than whiskers of a cat. Our several genera are readily discriminated by good charac-
ters of nostrils, enormous rictal bristles, and comparatively short wings of Night-iars jjroper,
in comparison with slight bristles, forked tail, and long pointed wings of Chonleiles ; they
respectively represent two sections of the subfamily — Setirostres, bristled-billed (fig. 378),
and Glabrirostres, smooth-billed (fig. 379). Most genera of the subfamily are setirostral, and
most such species belong to the Old World genus Cajmmulgus, from which our Antrostomus
differs little ; leading glabrirostral genera, besides Chordeiles, are Lyncornis, Podager, and
Lurocalis. In both sections the feet are so extremely short that the birds cannot perch in the
usual way, but sit lengthwise on a large branch, or crouch on the ground. They lay two
lengthened, more or less nearly elliptical, white or thickly spotted eggs, on or near the ground,
in stumps, etc. The sexes are distinguishable, but nearly alike. The voice is peculiar, and
has given several of the species their fanciful onomatopoetic names.
Analysis of Genera.
A. Setirostres. Long rictal bristles. Plumage very lax.
Tarsus extensively feathered. Nostrils not extensively tubular.
Tail rounded, much shorter than wing. Primaries all mottled, without white spaces. Eggs colored. Large
and medium-sized Antrostomus
Tarsus naked, except on joint above. Nostrils extensively tubular.
Tail square, much shorter than wing. Primaries all mottled, without white spaces. Eggs colorless. Small.
(Western.) • P/ialcrnoptiliis
Tail rounded, about as long as wing. Outer primaries mostly whole-colored, with great white spaces. Eggs
colored. Very large. (Southwestern.) A'yctidromus
B. Glabrirostres. No long rictal bristles. Plumage more compact.
Tarsus moderately feathered. Nostrils not extensively tubular.
Tail forked, much shorter than the pointed wing. Outer primaries mostly whole-colored, with great white
spaces. Eggs colored. Medium-sized Chordeiles
NYCTI'DROMUS. (Gr. pv^, gen. vvktos, mix, nuctos, night; dpofios, dromos, act of coursing.
Fig. 380.) Night Coursers. Nos-
trils prolonged as cylindric tubes open-
ing forward and outward. Rictal
bristles immense, simple; other bris-
tle-tipped or bristle-bearded featliers
about bill. Tarsus lengthened, but
not exceeding middle toe without claw,
naked except just on the joint. Wing
scarcely rounded ; tipped by 2d, 3d,
and 4th ([uills, 1st longer than oth,
foliling to about middle of tail, which
is rounded, and approximately of equal
length with the wing. Plumage not
so lax as in a Whippoorwill ; in this,
as in tlie .stiffisli primaries with little
marbling but great wllite spaces, and Kio. ,3.-^0. — Head, foot, and pectinated claw of X yd id ro in II 3,
under parts barred cro.sswise, is seen '"'t- «i^e- (Ad. nat. del. R. Ridgway.)
an approach to Chordeiles, between wliich genus and Phakenoptilus Xi/ctidiomus probal'ly
comes. One or two species, long well known in tropical America.
N. albicol'lis iiierrilli. (Lat. albus, wliite; coUum, neck. To Dr. J. C. Merrill, U. 8. A.)
Mkruim/s I*AK.\riiri:. Adult ^ : Assuming bniwnish-gray as ground color of upper parts :
Crown licavily daslicil witli black .streaks along the midillo line, with narrow blark sh.itt-
Hnes at the sides and on nape. Back more diffusely streaked willi black iu smaller pattern.
V.
564
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. —PICARLE— CORACLE.
leuding to break up in chains of shaft-spots, and with lighter gray and brown marbling.
Scapulars and tertiaries boldly and beautifully marked with firm, even, sharp lines of white or
tawny-white — the arrow-headed edg>ings of angular black terminal fields. Wing-coverts
curiously mottled with black, white, and tawny — the white and tawny conspicuous as large
irregularly roundish spots. Five outer primaries with a large oblique white spot, on 1st at
about its middle, on others nearing their ends; these primaries othei'wise plain blackish, ex-
cept a little marbling at their ends — the whole eflect thus as in Chordeiles. Other primaries
and all secondaries blackish, fully scalloped and barred with tawny in increasing amount and
regularity from without inward. Four middle tail-feathers clouded with the same variegated
colors as other upper parts, but without definite white — the markings tending to wavy cross-
bars. Next two lateral feathers on each side with great white spaces on one or both webs at
end, 2-3 inches long, the rest of these feathers chiefly barred with black and tawny ; outer
feather chiefly black, but with marbling, and with white and tawny. Ear-coverts rich chestnut,
well contrasted with surroundings. Throat with a broad white collar, some of the white
feathers black-tipped. Under parts ochraceous or pale tawny, varied with whitish, and pretty
regularly barred crosswise with blackish-brown, thus somewhat as in Chordeiles. Length
13.00; extent 25.00; wing and tail, each, 7.50; tail graduated 1.00; tarsus 1.00 ; middle toe
and claw 1.25. Another Texas specimen (perhaps 9 > ^"t with even more white on tail, but
white on only 4 primaries) is much smaller: length about 10.50 ; wing (5.50 ; tail 6.00. The
species is said to be very variable in size and markings ; 9 to have the collar buflf. N. E.
Mexico into Texas, where common in the valley of the Lower Eio Grande. Eggs 2, laid on
the ground in woods or thickets; 1.25 X 0.92, creamy-bufl" or salmon-color, splashed and
spotted with pinkish, brown, and lilac; the markings generally profuse and evenly distributed,
but sometimes mainly confined to the larger end, or quite faint over the whole surface ; size
also varying about 0.25 in length. They are found in Texas from the middle of April through
June. (N. albicoUis of the 2d and 3d eds. of the Key, in the 4th ed. 1890, p. 902, distinguished
from the stock form of tropical America, after Sennett, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 44; A. 0. U.
List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 419.)
ANTRO'STOMUS. (Gr. avrpov, antron, a cave : arofxa, stoma, mouth ; alluding to the cav-
ernous mouth. Fig. 381.) American Night- jars. Nostrils oval, with a raised rim not
prolonged as a tube, opening upward and
outward. Rictal bristles immense, with
or without lateral filaments, and other
bristly or bristle- bearded feathers about
bill. Tarsus not longer than middle toe
without claw, feathered in front nearly to
toes. Wing rounded, tipped by 2d and
3d quills, folding to beyond middle of tail,
which is rounded (not enough so in fig.
383) and much shorter than wing. Plu-
mage very lax, with minutely marbled
coloration, in some places as if dusted or
frosted over ; primaries weak, all mottled
with tawny, without great white spaces ;
under parts mottled, with little tendency
to regular crosswise barring ; markings of crown longitudinal. Size medium and rather large ;
sexes distinguishable ; eggs 2, heavily colored. Highly nocturnal. Containing those shadowy
birds, consorts of bats and Owls, — those scarce-embodied voices of the night, here, there, and
everywhere unseen, but shrilling on the ear with sorrow-stricken iteration.
Fig. 381. —Head and foot of Whippoorwill, nat. size
nat. del. R. Ridgway. )
(Ad.
CAPRIMULGID.E—CAPRIMULGIN.^: TRUE GOATSUCKERS. 565
Analysis of Species and Subspecies.
Large : wing 8.00 or more ; rictal bristles garnished with lateral filaments. Tail with large wliole-colored spaces in
(f only. (Antrostomus proper) carolinensis
Small : wing 7.00 or less, rictal bristles simple. Tail with light spaces in both sexes.
Eastern N. Am vociferus
Arizona and New Mexico . . v. macromystax
A. carolinen'sis. (Lat. Carolinian. Fig. 382.) Chuck-will's-widow. The rictal bristles
tvith lateral filaments. Singularly variegated with black, white, brown, tawny, and rufous, the
prevailing tone fulvous ; a whitish or tawny throat-bar ; several lateral tail-feathers with large
whole-colored space in ^, all variegated in 9 • Adult (^: Taking dark wood-brown as ground
color of upper parts, this is heavily dashed with black, lengthwise on crown in large pattern,
elsewhere similar in smaller style, everywhere minutely punctuated with ochrey and gray, as
if dusted over; wing-coverts and inner quills more boldly varied with black centre-fields and
tawnv or whitish edgings of the feathers. Four middle tail-feathers singularly clouded with
Fio. 382. — Antrostomus Carolinensis, nat. size. (L. A. Puertes.)
gray and tawny on a seeming black ground, tlie pattern tending crosswise. All other tail-
feathers with inner webs having 2-3 inch long whole-colored spaces, white viewed from above,
tawny seen from below (a curious difference, which has caused some confusion in descriptions
of the sexes of this bird) ; their outer webs mottled with black and tawny. Primaries black,
fully mottled with broken-up tawny-reddish cross-bars. General tone of under parts ochra-
ceous, becoming quite so posteriorly, with pronounced tendency to black cross-waves. Length
11.00-12.00; e.xtent about 25.00; wing 8.00 or more; tail (>.00 or more; whole foot 1.75.
9 only differs in lacking whole-colored spaces on tail, all tlio feathers being motley through-
out; primaries more closely mottled with reddish; rather smaller; but the Chuck-will's-widow
is on the whole about twice as bulky as the Wiiippoorwill, and should never be mistaken for
it. South Atlantic and Gulf States ; Cuba; S. in winter to the IT. S. of Colombia ; N. on the
Atlantic only to Virginia regularly, to Massachusetts accidentally, in the Mississipjii valley to
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and casually Kansas; W. in portions of Arkansas, Indian Ter-
566 S YSTEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PICA RLI^ — CORA CI^.
ritory, and Texas ; resident on our southern border, migratory in the rest of its range, April
and Sept. ; breeds throughout, chiefly in May and June. No nest ; eggs laid on the ground,
in woods, 2 in number, equal-ended or nearly so, averaging 1.45 X 1.05, creamy or pinkish,
but very heavily marked in intricate pattern with browns and neutral tints ; the tone extremely
variable in its blotching, marbling, and clouding, indescribable in few words. The bird feeds
maiuly upon large night-flying lepidopterous and coleopterous insects, but includes many others
in its fare, and has long been known to devour occasionally small birds. It is very common
in the Southern States, but an elusive recluse.
A. voci'ferus. (Lat. vociferus, voice-bearing. Figs. 378, 381, 383.) Whippoorwill.
NiCtHT-jar. The rictal bristles simple. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish,
and tawny ; prevailing tone gray ; black streaks sharp on head and back ; colors elsewhere
delicately marbled, including four median tail-feathers ; wings and their coverts with bars of
rufous spots; lateral tail-feathers black, with large white ((?) or small tawny (9) terminal
spaces; a white ((^) or tawny (?) throat-bar. Adult ^ : Assuming stone-gray as ground-
color (jf upper parts : Crown with a purplish cast, heavily dashed lengthwise with black; back
Fig. 38:J. — Whi|i|iuorwiU, i nat. size. (From Brehm. Tail not rounded enough.)
darker, with smaller streaks; tail beautifully marbled with slate-gray and black tending cross-
wise on 4 middle feathers ; scapulars with bold black centre-fields set in frosty marbling ; hind
neck with white specks, as if continued around from white throat-bar. Primaries black, with
a little marbling at their ends, fully broken-barred with tawny-reddish ; no white spaces.
Three lateral tail-feathers mostly black, with pure white terminal spaces 1-2 inches long.
Under parts quite blackish, on breast powdered over with hoary-gray, more posteriorly marbled
with gray and tawny, tending crosswise. Lores and ear-coverts dark brown. It is only in
perfect plumage that the colors are as slaty and frosty as described ; ordinarily more brown
and ochrey. Length 9.00-10.00 ; extent 16.00-18.00; wing 6.00 or more; tail 6.00 or less ;
whole foot 1.40; longest rictal bristle about 1.50; the distance across from one corner of mouth
to the other about as much as length of gape. Adult 9 '• General tone more brownish and
ochrey; throat-bar tawny-whitish; tail-spaces very slight and ochraceous; rather smaller.
Eastern U. S. and British Provinces, N. in Canada to lat. 54° iu the region of Lake Winnipeg,
W. to Manitoba and Assiniboia, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas ;
S. in winter to Guatemala ; casual in some of the West Indies ; migratory in nearly all its
N. A. range, but winters on our Gulf coast; breeds from the S. States northward, mainly in May
and June ; migrates mainly in April and Sept. A shady character, oftener heard than seen, of
recluse nocturnal habits and perfectly noiseless flight, in the breeding season ceaseless in
caprimulgidjE—caprimulgiNuE: true goatsuckers. 567
uttering with startling vehemence its uncouth cries. The notes are likened to the phrase which
has given the name ; they are very rapidly reiterated, with strong accent on the last syllable ;
when very near, a clicking sound, and sometimes low murmuring tones, may also be heard.
No nest; 2 eggs on ground (dead leaves) or log or stump, in woods, 1.20 X 0.90, down to 1.10
X 0.80, nearly equal-ended, white or creamy-white, spotted with browns, lilac and neutral
tints. The young are helpless, shapeless, downy masses ; both eggs and young are often
removed in the parent's mouth if disturbed, as a cat carries off her kittens, — a practice,
however, habitual in this curious family of birds. Unlike the Night-hawk, the Whippuor-
will rarely flies by day, unless flushed from its shady retreats.
A. V. niacroinys'tax. (Gr. ^a/<pd?, ma^TOS, long ; fivara^, nmstax, a moustache.) Stephens'
Whippoorwill. Arizona Whippoorwill. Similar: larger: rictal bristles longer and
stouter. (J : Throat-bar and superciliary streak ochraceous ; lores and ear-coverts tawny ;
white spaces on tail short; under tail-coverts nearly unbarred. Length 10.20; extent 19.40;
wing 0.65; tail 5.45; longest rictal bristle 1.80; longest tail-spot 1.55. Arizona, New Mexico,
S. W. Texas, and S. on the table lands of Mexico to Guatemala. Discovered over our border
.May 22, 1880, in the Cliiricaliua Mts. of Arizona, by F. Stephens; an egg taken July 4 was
white, immaculate but for faint neutral tint sliell-spots, 1.17 X 0.87. A. v. arizonce Brewst.
Bull. Nutt. Club, vi, Apr. 1881, p. G9; CouES, Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. 452; A. 0. U. List, 1st
ed. 1886, No. 417 a ; Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 299.
Caprimulgus macromystax Wagl. Isis, 1831, p. \ i,f x' ^-^ V \\?
5;J3 ; C. rociferus macromysta.c Hartert, Ibis, O^au'** .,.,.^.ry^^?/^^====:^ y/j
1892, p. 286; A. v. macromi/stax A. 0. U. Auk, ^^^^^'^^^''- nv J/
Jan. 1894, p. 48 ; List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 417 «. ^^"^^//tIUXX ^==^^^^ /#
PHALiENO'PTILUS. (Gr. (^a\aiva, phula'ma, a '}■{
moth ; tvt'CKov, j^tilon, feather : alluding to the pow- — S^j^'''
dery plumage, like the furriness of a moth's wings.
P'ig. 384.) Poor-wills. Nostrils tul)ular, cylin-
dric, opening forward and outward. Rictal bristles
immense, but simple. Tarsus naked except just on
tlie joint above (as in Nyctidromus) , as long as mid-
dle toe without claw. Tail scjuare, much shorter Fig 3S4. — Head and foot of Nuttall's Poor-
tlian the rounded wings, which fold nearly to its "'"' "''*• ^'^''- (*^- «"**• *>«'• ^- Ri^gway.)
end. Plumage peculiarly soft and velvety, in hoar-frosted pattern of coloration. Markings
of crown transverse; primaries barred witli black and tawny. Size small. Sexes alike. Note
dissyllabic. Eggs white.
Analysis of Subspecies.
The normal stock form nuttalli
Bleached desert form "• nitidus
Dark coast form "• californtcus
v. iiiit'talli. (To Th..s. Nuttall.) XiTTALi-'s PooR-wiLL. Aihih ^ 9: Assuming the
nppiT parts of a beautiful linnizy-gray ground coli.r, tliis is elegantly frosted over with soft
silver-gray, and watered in wavy cross-pattern witli black, these black double crescents enlarg-
ing t<t herring-bone marks on scapulars and inner quills. Four middle tail-feathers patterned
after back; others with firmer black bars on motley brown ground, and short white tips.
Primaries and longer secondaries bright tawny, with pretty regular black bars, and marbled
tips (the half-opened wing viewed fr(Mn below is curiously like that of the Short-eared Owl).
X largo firm silky-wliite throat-bar. L^ider parts grounded in blackish-brown, giving way
behind through ochrey with dark bars to nearly uniform ochrey. It is impossible in wt>rds t«>
give an idea of the artistic blending of the colors in this elegant little Night-jar. The .sexes
scarcely difl'er ; specimens before me marked 9 I'ave as j)urely white throat as tlie ^, but tlie
568
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PICA RLE — CORA CIjE.
tail-tips are shorter and tinged with tawny. Length 7.00-8.00; extent 15.00; wing about
5.50; tail 3.50 or less ; tarsus, or middle toe without claw, 0.65. Great Plains nearly to the
Pacific, U. S. and British border. W. to the Sierras Nevadas of California and Cascade ranges
of Oregon and Washington, E. casually to Iowa and Missouri, S. to Guatemala; abundant;
migratory, but breeds throughout its U. S. range, and winters sparingly on our southern bor-
der. Note of two syllables, the first of the " whippoorwill " omitted. Eggs 2, 1.05 X 0.80,
down to 0.90 X 0.75, averaging 1.00 X 0.75, elliptical, white, with a faint blush, occasionally
with a few fugacious shell-markings about the larger end. They are laid from May to August,
on the bare ground.
P. n. nit'idus. (Lat. nitidiis, shining.) Frosted Poor-will. Similar to the last, but
with dark markings of upper parts fewer and sharper on a much paler ground, and cross-bars
on under parts finer and paler. Described as a bleached desert race from Texas and Arizona,
N. to western Kansas. Brewst. Auk, April, 1887, p. 147 ; CouES, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 902 ;
A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 418 a.
P. n. calif or'nieus, (Lat. Californian.) DuSKY Poor- will. Like the stock form, but
darker. Pacific coast region, Lower California and northward. Tva'o skins from Nicasio and
Calaveras, California, are said to be "altogether
darker than any from elsewhere." Ridgw. Man.
1887, p. 588 ; Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 902 ;
A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 418 b.
CHORDEl'LES. (Gr. xop^, chorde, a stringed
LsUjssJ'*^ " ^S^^I^^^W musical instrument ; SeiXij, evening : alluding to
the crepuscular habits. The malformed name
Chordeiles of Swainson, 1831, continues to be
so misspelled in the A. 0. U. Lists. Fig. 385.)
NiOHT-HAWKS. Glahrirostral : the rictus with-
out long stiff bristles. Horny part of beak ex-
tremely small. Nostrils cylindric and rimmed
about, hardly tubular, opening outward and up-
ward. Tarsus feathered part way down in front.
Fig. 385. —Night-hawk, Female, nat. size. (L. Tail lightly forked, much shorter than the ex-
A. Fuertes.) tremely long, pointed, stiff, and thin bladed wing,
with 1st primary as long as the next. Plumage more compact and smooth than in Night-jars ;
primaries mostly whole-colored (in texensis spotted), with large white (or tawny) spaces on
the outer 4-6 ; under parts barred across ; a large white (or tawny) V-shaped throat-bar.
Eggs 2, heavily colored. Not strictly nocturnal. Remarkably volitorial.
Analysis of Species and Subspecies.
Primaries dusky, with large white spot on 5 of them, in both sexes, about half way from bend to point of the wing.
Large ; wing over 7.00, usually near 8.00.
The ordinary form, dark. N. Am. Chiefly Eastern virginianus
The lighter tawny form. Western N. Am ''• "Snryt
The pale silvery-gray form. Great Plains *'■ senneth
Small ; wing about 7.00. Florida and Gulf coast ■"• chapmani
Primaries more or less spotted with tawny, with large white ( d" ) or tawny ( 9 ) spaces on 4 of them nearer point
than bend of the wing. Small : wing about 7.00. Southwestern texensis
C. vlrginia'nus. (Lat. Virginian. Figs. 379, 385, 386.) Night-hawk. Mosquito-hawk.
Bull-bat. Piramidig. Pisk. Above, mottled with black, brown, gray, and tawny, the
former in excess ; below from breast transversely barred with blackish and white or pale ful-
vous; throat with a large white (^) or tawny (9 ) cross-bar; tail blackish, with pale mar-
bled cross-bars and a large white spot (wanting in the 9 ) on one or both webs of nearly
all the feathers toward the end ; primaries dusky, unmarked except by one large white spot on
CAPRIMULGID.E—CAPRIMULGIN.E: TRUE GOA TSUCKERS.
569
outer ,^i'e, alxmt midway between their base and tip; seeoiidaries like jiriiiiaries, but with
whitish tips and imperfect cross-bars. Sexes nearly alike: o witli wliite spaces on the quills,
l)ut those on tail replaced by tawny or not evident. Young similar, with v\'ing-spots from the
nest, but the markings finer and more intricately blended, iu effect more like Antrostomus ; quills
edged and tipped with tawny. Lengtli 9.00 or more; extent about 2.3 00; wiug about 8.00;
tail 4.50; whole foot J. 25; culnien scarcely 0.25; gape about 1.25. Temperate N. Am.,
chiefly Eastern, abundant; migratory; l)ree(ls tliroughout its N. Am. range; winters beyond,
in the Bahamas, Central, and much of South America. The N. limit is reached in Labrador,
the region immediately S. of Hudson's Hay and N. of Lake Winnipeg, and farther N. W. to
lat. 65°; western limits uncertain, owing to blending with the two next varieties; but speci-
mens indistinguishable from the stock form occur iu British Columbia, Washington, Oregon,
and California. The extensive migrations occur in Ajtril and .May, and from late August
through October. This species dies abroad at all times, though perhaps most active toward
Flo. iiSG. — Night-hawk, or Bull-bat, ^ nat. size. (From Brehm. Bill too briotly. )
evening and iu dull weather; and is generally seen in companies, busily foraging for insects with
rapid, easy, and protracted Hight; in the breeding season it performs curious evolutions, falling
through the air with a loud booming sound. No nest; 2 eggs laid May-July, mostly in June,
on bare ground or rock in field or pasture (often burnt over) or <ni a flat city roof, l.'ii X
0.87 to 1.10 X 0.80, averaging 1.20 X 0.85, more or less elliptical, finely variegated with stone-
gray and other neutral tints, over which is scratched and fretted dark olive-iiray; but the pat-
tern and tints are too variable to be conci.sely described. The general effect is a dark marbling.
I'lie young hatch (•overe<l with Huffy down, whitish below, varied with blackish and brown
ai)ove, thus resembling tlieir native earth. It may be necessary in tliis family for the young
to be covered from the first, to protect them from the c(dd ground. On being disturbed while
brooding the female feigns lameness, dragging and fluttering about, moaning piteoiisly, and will
sometimes remove her young. The Night-hawk has been given in previous editions of the Key
as (J. jxjpetue, f(dlowing Baird's adoption iu 1858 of Vieillot's barbarous name, applied to the
9 in 1807. This was in consequence of .some uncertainty supposed to attach to the Ca]>ri-
iniilgus rirginianus of the older ornithologists, that of Vieillot being tlie Whippoorwill, and
that of Brisson, 1700, for example, applying to the Night-hawk in part only. But as there
seems to he no necessary doubt about C. riiffininnxs (Jm. S. N. I. 1788, p. 1028, I am ghnl to
lollow the A. O. n. Committee in drop])ing the objectionable ;>ri/j(7//r'.
<'. V. siMi'iK'tti. (To Geo. B. Sennett, the distinguished ornithologist.) Sf.NNKTT'.s Nkiiit-
II AWK. This is that pale subspecies of the Night-hawk which is characteristic of the un-
670 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARIJE — HALCYONES.
wooded country from Texas to Dakota : silvery grayish -white predominating above, the white
below greatly in excess of the narrow, irregular or broken, dark bars, and little or no rufous
anywhere — in the latter respect especially differing from C v. henryi. Chordiles popetiie
sennetti CouES, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 37 ; Chordeiles virginianus sennetti Chamb. Syst. Tabl.
Canad. Birds, 1888, App. A, p. 14; Chordediles popetiie sennetti Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890,
p. 902; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, hypothetical No. 16. 1, p. 330, admitted to the regular
list at the Cambridge meeting of the Committee, Nov. 15, 1896: A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk,
Jan. 1897, p. 121, No. 420 c.
C. V. hen'ryi. (To Dr. T. C. Henry.) Western Night-hawk. The lighter-colored form
prevailing in the dryer or unwooded portions of western United States ; gray and fulvous in ex-
cess of darker hues; white patches on wing, tail, and throat usually larger; under tail-coverts
more nearly uniform ; but no specific character can be assigned.
C. V. chap'mani. (To Frank M. Chapman, the distinguished ornithologist.) Chapman's
Night-hawk. Florida Night-hawk. Similar to C virginianus in color, but rather more
tawny, and decidedly smaller; wing 7.00; tail 4.00. Florida to Texas, and southward.
C. popetue minor Coues, 2d and 3d eds. of the Key, p. 454, in which this form was referred
to the Cuban; C. virginianus minor Coues, Birds N. W. 1874, p. 264; Kidgw. Man. 1887,
p. 301 ; A. 0. U. List, 1st ed. 1886, No. [420 ?>.J ; Chordiles popetue chapmani Cove^, ixoxn
Sennett's MS. Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 37 ; Chordeiles virginianus chapmani Scott, Auk, Apr.
1888, p. 186; Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 420 6.
C. acutipen'nis texen'sis. (Lat. aeutus, acute ; penna, a feather : alluding to the sharp-
pointed wings. Of Texas: our bird a northern race of the S. Am. species.) Texas Night-
hawk. Smaller than the common Night-hawk, and otherwise very distinct. General tone
lighter, pattern more blended and diffuse, more as in Antrostomus. Adult ^: Assuming
upper parts gray, this color intimately punctate with lighter and darker shades, more boldly
marked with blackish, chiefly in streaks, and with tawny and white, largest on scapulars and
wing-coverts. Under parts barred, as in virginianus, with blackish, tawp.y, and whitisli, but
the two former prevailing. A large white V on throat. Four outer primaries with large white
spot on both webs, nearer tip than bend of wing ; inner primaries and all secondaries spotted
with tawny in broken bars. Tail blackish, with broken gray or tawny bars, and a complete
subterminal cross-bar of white on all the feathers but the central pair. 9 lacking this white,
all the tail-feathers being motley-barred with gray and tawny throughout ; primaries all
spotted with tawny, larger spots of this color replacing the white of the ^; throat- V tawny.
Young more suffused with tawny on a pearly-gray, black-speckled ground ; but young ^ with
wliite tail- and wing-spots from the first. Length 8.00-9.00; extent 20.00-22.00 ; wing about
7.00 ; tail 4.00 or more. Southwestern U. S., valleys of the Rio Grande and Colorado, Texas to
California, and southward in winter to Central America ; N. in summer over the borders of
Utah and Nevada, and in California to lat. 38° ; E. occasionally to the Mississippi valley in
Louisiana; common, in some places as abundant as C. virginianus, whose general habits and
traits it shares, though the diflFerence in appearance between the two is obvious when they are
flying. This species comes over our borders in April, breeds May, June, and July, and leaves
in October. Eggs 2, laid on the ground, subelliptical, averaging 1.05 X 0.75, but varying
over 0.20 in length, profusely and minutely marbled and veined with various dark tints, but
the general effect decidedly lighter in tone than that of the eggs of C. virginianus.
Suborder HALCYONES: Halcyoniform Birds.
See p. 540 for analytical characters of this suborder, as framed to include the five families
BucerotidcB, Alcedinidte, Momotida, Todidce, and MeropidcB. The first and last of these are
exclusively Old World ; the second is chiefly Old World, with one American genus ; the third
A L CEDINTD. E : KINGFISHER S.
571
is Neotropical, the fourth Antilloun. The suborder is less compact than most others oi Pica-
rice, and includes birds of such extremely dissimilar external appearance as the tiny Todies, no
larger than some Hummingbirds, of dainty aspect and brilliant plumage, and the great gaunt
ungainly Hornbills, witli their monstrous beaks and sombre or sordid hues. The feet are ani-
sodactylous, with three toes in front and one behind (anomalous exception in t\vo3-toed genera
of Kingfishers, lacking the 2d digit), and more or less perfectly syndactylous, having the anterior
toes united for some distance in a single
flat fleshy sole. They are also sympel-
mous by blending of the flexor tendons
of the toes, whereof the hallu.x is sup-
plied by a slip from the flexor digitorum
perforans, not from the flexor hallucis.
The spinal pteryla is well defined and
not branched over the slioulders, and
the ventral tract has an open space. The
palate is desmognathous in the five
families, and in none of them are there
basi})terygoids ; the sternum is usually
4-notched or 4-fenestrate except Buce-
rotidfe. The oil-gland aud c*ca are f.g. 3S7.- Head of bi,k -...:. ...-bin, nat. size.
variable in the several families. The myological formula is A X Y (except in Alcedinidcp,
where it is A X, as in Troyonidcc), the fenK>rocaudal, semitendinosus and its accessory present,
but accessory femorocaudal absent, like tlie ambiens. The plumage is aftershafted in Momo-
tidce and Meropidce. The rectrices are oftenest 12, often 10. The most peculiar family is the
Bucerotidce, which some authors set apart in a group by itself; its relationships appear to be
with the Uimpce.
[Family MOMOTID^: Sawbills.
Feet syndactylous by cohesion of third and fourth toes (p. I'-i'i); tomia serrate. Plumage
aftershafted. No ceeca. Two carotids. Sternum 4-fenestrate. Rectrices \'2 {\i) \\\ Baryph-
thenyus), as a rule the middh; pair elongated and more or less spatulate. A small family of
tropical American birds, comprising about Id species of 7 genera, none luiving riglitful place
here : Imt Momotus cceruleiceps (fig. 387) comes near our border, and is included to illustrate
the suborder Halcyones. In this species, the central tail-feathers are long-exserted, and spatu-
late by absence of webs along a part of the shaft — a mutilation which is naturally progressive
in this family, and may be facilitated or expedited by the birds tliemselves ; bill is about as long
as iiead, gently curved ; nostrils rounded, basal, exposed ; wings short and rounded; tarsi scu-
tellate anteriorly- Color greenisli, with top nf head blue, encircled with black ; long auriculars
black, and a bnuch of Idack, or l)iue aud black, feathers on breast; middle tail-featliers blue
toward ends, witli l)la(k tips. Length 14 00-15.00; wing 5.50; tail 8.00 or more; bill 1.50.
Mexico, N. to Nuevi> Leou.]
Family ALCEDINID^ : Kingfishers.
Feet syndactylous hy cohesion of third and fourth toes (p. 135, fig. 44); tomia simple (or
sliiihtly serrulate). Plumage not aftershafted. No cseca. Two carotids. Tufted oil-gland
(t'xcei)t some of Tanysiptera). Sternum 4-notch(tl. IVill long, large, straight, acute (rarely
hooked); somewhat " fissirostral," the gape being deep aud wide. Tongue rudimentary or
572 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARIjE — HALCYONES.
very small (lipoglossine). Nostrils basal, reached by frontal feathers. Feet very small and
weak, scarcely or not ambulatorial ; tibiae naked below; tarsi extremely short, reticulate in
front; hallux short, flattened underneath, its sole more or less continuous with sole of inner
toe; soles of outer and middle toe in common for at least half their length; inner toe always
short, rudimentary, or wanting (in two genera, Ceyx and Alcyone — -an abnormal modification).
Developed toes always with normal ratio of phalanges (2, 3, 4, 5; p. 133); middle claw not
serrate. Wings long, of 10 primaries. Tail of 12 rectrices (only 10 in the racket-tailed
Tanysijitera) variable in shape. Two subfamilies ; all Old World excepting one genus.
"The Kingfishers form a very natural family of the great Picarian order, and are alike
remarkable for their brilliant coloration and for the variety of curious and aberrant forms wliich
are included within their number. . . . ' Their characteristic habit is to sit motionless watching
for their prey, to dart after it and seize it on the wing, and to return to tlieir original position
to swallow it.' . . . The Alcedlnidce nest in holes and lay white eggs. It is, however, to be
remarked that, in accordance with a modification of the habits of the various genera, a corre-
sponding modification has taken place in the mode of nidification, the piscivorous section of
the family nesting for the most part in holes in tlie banks of streams, while the insectivorous
section of the family generally nest in the holes of trees, not necessarily in the vicinity of water."
(Sharpe.)
One would gain an imperfect or erroneous idea of the family to judge of it by the American
fragment, of one genus and 6 or 8 species. According to the author of the splendid monograph
above cited, there are in all 125 species, belonging to 19 genera. They are very unequally dis-
tributed. Ceryle alone is nearly cosmopolitan, absent only from the Australian region ; the
northern portion of the Old World has only 2 peculiar species ; 3 genera and 24 species are char-
acteristic of the Ethiopian region : one genus and 25 species are confined to the Indian ; while
no less than 10 genera and 59 species are peculiar to the Australian. The species are now
known to be over 150 in number, but this increase does not materially affect the items just
given regarding their distribution. In the subfamily DacelonincE, which contains a majority of
the genera and species, the bill is more or less depressed, with smooth, rounded, or sulcate cul-
men; and these birds are hardly " fishers,'' kingly or otherwise, for they live in the woods and
are mainly insectivorous. The largest genus is Halcyon, with over oO species. The next
largest is Tanysiptera, containing the 20 racket-tailed species ; Ceyx has nearly as many 3-toed
species ; one of the most notable birds of the subfamily is the Laugliing Jackass of Australia,
Dacelo gigas. In the
Subfamily ALCEDININ/E, Piscivorous Kingfishers,
the bill is compressed, with carinate culmen. Ceryle is the only American genus, with 3 North
American species, others in South America, and several more in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The
other Old World genera are Pelargopsis, Alcedo, CorytJiornis, and Ceyx, the latter 3-toed.
The Alcedinince are all thoroughly aquatic and piscivorous, seeking their prey by plunging into
the water from on wing ; and nest in holes in banks, laying numerous white eggs.
CE'KYLE. (Gr. KripvKos, keridos, a kingfisher.) Belted Kingfishers. Head with an
occipital crest. Bill longer than head, straight, stout, acute. Wings long and pointed. Tail
rather long and broad (in comparison with some genera), much shorter than wing. Tarsi
short; legs naked above tibio-tarsal joint. Plumage belted below.
Analysis of Subgenera a7id Species.
Streptocertlb. Large, with small feet ; upper parts dull bluish.
Wing over 7.00, bill over 3.00. Under parts mostly rufous. Texas .....,, ^ ., ... • torquata
Wing under 7.00, bill under 3 00. Under parts mostly white. N Am. alcyon
Chloroceryle. Small, with large feet. Upper parts glossy greenish.
Wing under 4.00, bill under 2.00. Under parts mostly white americana septenlrionahs
ALCEDINID^ — AL CEDINIJSlyE : KINGFISHER S.
573
(Subgenus Streptoceryle.)
C. (S.) torqua'ta. (hat. torqtmte, collared.) Collared Kingfisher. ''Ringed" King-
fisher. Great Kufous-bellied Kingfisher. Resembling the common species, but
much larger and utlierwise different. Adult ^ : Above, ashy-blue, streaked with black, espe-
cially on the head ; a white collar around the back of the neck. Tail-feathers with transverse
white spots, but none on outer webs of {)rimaries toward their bases. Below, mostly rich ru-
fous, the throat and vent only white (no dark pectoral band as in C alcyon). Adult 9:
Rufous of under parts e.xtendiug on the crissum, and a dark bluish breast-band. Very large:
Length about 16.00; wing 7.50; bill over 3.00. A well-known species of tropical America,
casually N. to the Rio Grande of Texas (Laredo, June 2, 1888, specimen in Mus. Acad.
I'liilada.). Stone, Auk, Apr. 1894, p. 177; A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [,'390. 1].
C. (S.) arcyon. (Lat. alcyon, a kingfislior. Fig. 388.) Belted Kingfisher. Upper
parts, broad pectoral bar, and sides under wings, dull blue with tine black shaft-lines. Lower
eyelid, spot before eye, a cervical collar and under parts except as said, pure white ; 9 "'it''
chestnut belly-band and sides of the same color. Quills and tail-feathers black, speckled,
!dotche<l or barred on inner
webs with wliite; outer webs
of secondaries and tail-feath-
ers like back ; wing-coverts
frequently sprinkled with
white. Bill black, pale at
base below. Feet dark ;
tibia} naked below. A long,
tliin, pointed occipital crest;
plumage comjiact and oily
to resist water, into which
the birds constantly plunge
after their finny prey.
Leiii^nh 12.00-1.3.00; extent
2l.()()-23.()0: wing 6.00-
6.50; tail 3.50--5.()(); whole
foot l..'^3; culmeu 1.75-2.25.
X. Am., common every-
where, resident or only
forced Sfuithward by freez-
ing of the waters. This fine
bird, whose loud rattling
notes are as familiar sounds
along our streams as tlie
noise of the mill-dam or the
machinery, burrows to tlie depth of 6 or 8 feet in the ground, and lays as many crystal white
subsplieroidal eggs, 1.35 X 1.05, at the enlarged extremity of the tunnel. Although tisli ftirms
tiie main fare, tliis bird shows its family traits by devouring many other animals, as small
snakes, lizanis, frogs, toads, crawfish, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, etc. I have often i*eoii
it away from water in the West, where no fish could be had. The situation of the burrow in
the face of cut-iianks of earth is more constant tlian its dimensions; sometimes the eggs can
almost be reached at arm's lengtli, and again they may be three to five yards under ground.
Tlie usual diameter of the hole will hardly admit the arm, but tlie farther end of the burrow
i.s pocketed to a diameter of 8 or 10 inchts. Tliirf is no true nest, but the eggs are usually
Fio. 388. — BeUe<l KiiiKfislier.
574
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. —PICARLE— TROGONES.
found on a layer of fish-hones and scales. The eggs are oftenest 6 or 8 in numher, as said,
sometimes only 5, and again 12 or more may he found in a nest. Some large specimens are
nearly 1.50, and some runts only 1.20 in length; but the hreadth is more constant, and the
shape thus extremely variable. Cock-burrows are sometimes made by the $ , and the holes
of Swallows are sometimes enlarged to suit the Kingfisher.
(Subgenus Chloroceryle.)
C. amerioa'na septentriona'lis. (Lat. American.
Lat. Northern, with reference to the northerly subspe-
cies of the tropical American stock form.) Texan
Green Kingfisher. Adult 9 '■ Entire upper parts
dark glossy-green, with bronze lustre, the bases of
nearly all the feathers suovA-y-wliite, which appears
sometimes upon the surface ; crown, scapulars, and
wing-coverts superficially sprinkled with white. Wing-
quills dusky on inner webs, green on the outer, both
marked in regular double series with pairs of white
spots, scallops, or bars. Central tail-feathers dark
green, usually touched with white along the edges, the
others green with white bars becoming confluent at the
bases of the feathers, where forming white spaces more
extensive than the green portion. Cervical collar and
entire under parts white; breast with a dark green
band, the belly, sides, and crissum spotted with glossy-
green. Bill black, usually light at base below ; feet
dark. Adult ^ differs in having no green spots across
belly and rufous instead of green breast-band. Young ^
has rusty tinge ou breast. Length about 8.00; wing
3.2.5-3.50; tail 2.50; bill 1.67-1.87; whole foot 1.00,
with relatively longer tarsus than in either of the fore-
gcjing. Valleys of the Lower Rio Grande and Lower
Colorado, and southward to Panama ; common and resi-
dent in some parts of Texas, where it breeds. I saw it in
Arizona on the Colorado, in 1865. Nesting substantially
as in C. alcyon; eggs 4-6, very thin and smooth, like
porcelain, rounded oval, 0.90-1.00 X 0.70-0.75. This
is C. americana and C. cabanisi of writers referring to
the northern form, wliich seems to difi'er mainly in the
larger bill. C. americana cabanisi of former eds. of the
Key, 1872-90. C. cabanisi A. 0. U. List, 1st ed. 1886,
]i. 209. C. americana septentrionalis Sharpe, Cat. B.
Brit. Mus. xvii, 1892, p. 134; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed.
1895, No. 391.
Suborder TROGONES : Trogons.
Or HETERODACTYLI: see p. 541, for princi-
Fig. 389. — r'ara.liN.. Tmi^on, or Quesal
(Phnromncrus mociniiu), (J, $. (From
Michelet.)
pal analytical characters in comparison with other sub-
orders of Picarics. These birds are unique, not only in tlieir suborder but in the class Aves, in
the disposition of the digits and their flexor tendons. They are yoke-toed, having the toes
TROGONID.E: TROGONS. bib
two before and two behind, and thus apparently zygodactylous, but in a peculiar way ; for the
1st and 2d digits point backward, the 3d and 4th forward. This arrangement is called hetero-
dacti/lons, and it is furilier pronounced in the disposition of the flexor hallucis, which supplies
both hind toes, the flexor digitorum supplying the front toes, by the arrangement known as
heteropehnous. The inyological formula is A X, as in the Kingfishers ; that is, the femoro-
caudal and semitendinosus are both present, but their respective accessories absent, as is also
the ambiens. The palate is schizognathous ; basipterygoids are present. The sternum is
4-notched ; oil-gland nude, but caeca present ; one carotid. General pterylosis passerine ;
spinal tract unbrauched ; aftershafts very long; rectrices 12. One family, of warm parts of
both hemispheres.
Family TROGONID^ : Trogons.
Heterodactyloiis and heteropehnous PicaricB (see above). Feet very small and weak, un-
fitted for progression ; the birds perch in wait and dart into the air for their prey, somewhat
like Flycatchers, whether their food be insects or fruits. Bill short and stout, with hooked
tip usually dentate or denticulate on the tomia, its base more or less hidden by appressed an-
trorse feathers, and further garnished with bristles. Wings short and rounded. Tail long,
of 12 broad feathers (in one genus with extraordinary development of the upper coverts in
the (^). General plumage soft and lax, of gorgeous coloration, well aftershafted ; skin tender;
eyelids lashed. No subfamilies need be recognized in this compact group of nearly or quite 50
species ; but the genera are several. The most splendid of these is Fharomacnis, with 4 spe-
cies of Central and South America, as P. mocinno, the famous Quesal or Paradise bird, as
large as a Magpie, with the glitter of a Hummingbird, and a long flowing traiu which a Pea-
cock might envy, if grace to be tasteful as well as showy were given that proud bird. A
Mexican Trogon is Buptiloti!^ neojcemts. The Cuban is Prionotclus temnurus ; the Haitian
is Tmetotrorfon (or Tenuiotrogon) rhodogaster. The African Trogons are three species of the
genus Hapaloderma, as H. narina. Those of the Orient are more numerous species of
the genera Harpactes aud HapKdarpactes. The remaining s{)ecies of the family belong to the
genus
TROtiON. (Gr. rpwycoi/, a gnawer : alluding to the dentate bill.) Toothed Trogox.s.
Tiie leading genus of the family in number of species, about 25, all American, one of them
reaching our borders. In all these the bill is dentate as well as hooked at the end, and the
sexes ditfer in tlie coloration of the middle tail-feathers.
T. ambi'guus. (Lat. ambiguous, equivocal, as doubtfully distinct from T. mexicanus ; but it
is a perfectly good species. Fig. 390.) Copper-tailed Trogon. Adult $ : Above, metal-
lic green, glancing g(dden, bronzy or coppery ; middle tail-feathers -,-»-■-.■
the latter, broadly black tipped; outer tail-feathers white for a long
space, but mostly vermiculated with narrow black zigzags; wing-
coverts and inner quills finely undulated with black and white : pri-
maries fuscous, with light edging. Front and sides of 1m ad blackish :
breast like back, with a pure white band; rest of under jtarts rich
red-carmine, scarlet, or vermilion. Length about 11.50; wing 5.25;
tail ().75. 9 : Urown where the $ is green, gray where he is black,
the middle tail-feathers quite rufous. Young birds vary interminably f,o 390. — Head of Cop-
in acquiring the coloration of the adults. Mexico to the U. S. bor- per-taiied Trogon, uat. size,
der, in the lower Rio Grande valley of Texas, in New Mexico, and in Arizona. It is a regular
summer visitant in the mountains of southern Arizona, and breeds there in June; it has been
ob.served from May to Aujjust, and young birds liave been taken, but the nest and eggs remain
to be discovered (IKMj).
576 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARI.E — PICI.
Suborder PICI : Piciform Birds.
See p. 541 for analytical characters of this group, as framed to include the six families :
Picidce, Indicator idee, Capitonidce (or Megalcemidie), Rhamphastidce, Galbulidce, and Bucconidce.
The name '^Pici'^ here adopted for the suborder is not a happy one, because it is so closely
identified with a particular one of the six families, and because it is not equivalent to the
Pidfonnes of former editit>ns of the Key, which included only the Picidcc (with Picumnidce
and lyngidie, now reduced to subfamilies). But I find no more eligible name ; for the same
objections apply to the Picoidecu of Dr. Stejneger. The Celeomorph(S of Huxley would
cover the case better, but by common consent the peculiar terminology of this great scientist
is rejected. The name Scansores in a new restricted sense is adopted for exactly this group
in the British Museum Catalogues; but only one of the families of the suborder as now
framed is strictly " scansorial," and the c(ninotations of the antique term Scansores are so
wild and vague that its imposition upon any modern scientific group seems to me highly
objectionable. With tliis explanation, I avail myself of the makeshift name Pici in the
present connection.
Pici are a less homogeneous group than most Picarian suborders, being in this respect
about as heterogeneous as Coracicc and Halci/ones. But these birds must go somewhere, and
may well be brought under one superfamily or subordinal group, as they agree in certain im-
portant structural characters, however diverse they are in external features and physiological
adaptations to difi'erent modes of life. Little given to climl)ing as are the birds of most of
these Piciform families, yet they agree to a dot in the actual structure of the feet, being all
antiopelmous as well as zygodactylous. The flexor digitorum profundus or perforans has but
a single tendon, which supplies the 3d digit (outer one of the two anterior ones), while the
proper flexor hallueis supplies the other digits by Tneans of three slips (two if the hallux
proper is missing, as it is in five genera of Picidte), besides sending a slip to the other flexor.
The myological formula always includes a semitendinosus and usually also its accessory (not
in PicidfE proper). The pahite is variable (with a special modification in the case of Picidte).
The sternum and tensor patagii brevis are characteristi(; ; the carotids are not, neither is the
oil-gland nor the caeca. ' Evidences of passerine affinity are found in the reducti(m or tendency
to reduction in extent of the wing-coverts (except in Bucconidce), reduction of the primaries to
10 with the first spurious {Picidce) or even to 9 (Indicaloridce) ; the rectrices are 12 or 10 indif-
ferently, even in the same family {Indicatorida;^"~Gra:lh->4Mdcc). The bill varies with the families
(peculiar in Picidce, enormous in Illuiniphastidcp, teuuirostral in Galbulidce, etc.). Referring
again to the tabular exhibit of the six families on pages 541, 542, I pass to the only one repre-
sented in North America.
Family PICID.^ : "Woodpeckers, Piculets, "Wrynecks.
Anomalogonatous antiopelmous zygodactylous Picarice, with saurognathous palate and of
scansorial habits. (Degradation of the families Pjcwmmfte and lyngidce, as given in former
editions of the Key, to rank as subfamilies Picumnince and Tyngince of one family Picidce makes
the latter equivalent to my former Piciformes, and my former Picidce to my present Picince.)
This is a large but well-defined and perfectly circumscribed family, found in most parts of the
world, and well represented in North America. In the antiopelmous structure of the flexor
tendons the Picidce agree perfectly with the other families of their suborder. Regarding their
zygodactylisin, it is perfect, with the anomalous and sporadic omission of a hind toe in five
genera otherwise intimately related in their respective subfamilies ; among the Picince the four
PICID.E - PICIN.E: WOODPECKERS. oil
genera Picoides. Gauropicoides, Gecinulus, and Tiga are ."{-toed by lack of hallux ; iu Picum-
nime, the .single genus Sasia is iu like case. In palatal characters the Picidce exhibit " a
simplification and degradation of the a'githognathous structure," as Huxley puts it, and this
condition is called by Parker " saurognathous." Saurognatiiisni consists essentially in lack of
fusion of parts along the midline ; the vomer is double, in permanently paired halves, i. e. there
are two vomers, attached on tiieir respective sides to the small palatines, and the maxillopala-
tiues are abortive. The sahvary glands are higiily dcvchnu'd, and the hyoidean apparatus is
j)eculiar (less so in one or two genera o{ Picina'). There is no urcjhyal bone, the ceratohyals
are small and fused or fusible together, the basihyal is slender, and as a rule the enormously
developed thyrohyals are jointed in two pieces which curl up over tlie skull; tliis is the mecha-
nism, by which as actuated by corresi)ondingly specialized hyoidean muscles, tlie long lumbrici-
form tongu(! can be tlirnst far out of the mouth. Only the left carotid is present ; the oil-gland
is tufted and there are no caica. The whole pterylosis exhibits passerine affinities uumis-
taUahly ; thus, the secondary coverts are short, as in Passeres ; the first priuiary is short or
s|)urious, leaving only 9 functionally well developed; and the rectrices are 12, though one pair
be spurious. The bill varies to a considerable extent iu the different subfamilies and genera,
without losing its (hstinctive ciiaracter as a hammer, cliisel, or gouge. The himily is well i
divided, according to the stnu-tinc of the tail and other characters, into three subfamilies, so ^
well marked that I reluctantly now relegate them to one family. The Old World lyngina; or
Wrynecks, of one genus and about G species, have the tail soft, and other ])eculiarities. The
J'iciimnitue or Piculets are also soft tailed, and in general superficialities resemble Nuthatches
(|uitc curiously. Most of these diminutive birds are Neotropical, there being about 20 species
in South America; a few are Oriental, among them the 3-toed species of Sasia ; one is Ethi-
opian ( Verreauxia africana) ; one Antilleau (Nesoctites micromegas) ; the total of the species
is about 40, mostly of the genus Picumnns. All the North American Picidce belong to the
Subfamily PICIN/E: Woodpeckers.
Tail-feathers rigid, acuviimite ; hill a chisel. This expression will serve for the recognition
of any Woodpecker. Wing of 10 primaries; 1st short or even spurious, the wing-formula
being (juite as in most passerine birds — a Crow or Thrush, for example. Greater row of
secondary coverts short, as in passerine birds at large. Tail of 12 rectrices, but outermost
pair rudimentary, lying concealed at base of tail betwem the penultimate (now exterior) and
next pair, so that there appear to be but 10, as usual iu picarian binls (a strong peculiarity).
'I'ail-teatliers very stiff and strong, with enlarged elastic shafts, and acuminate at end. Tarsi
scutellate in front, on sides and behind variously reticulate. Toes .strongly scutellate on top.
Tiu- usual ratio of toes is: 1st (inner posterior) shortest; 2d (inner anterior) next longer;
.'M (outer anterior) Ioniser: Ith (outer posterior) loiiirest of all (in most typical species; iu
some, however, scarcely or not e(|ualling .'M in length). The basal joints of the toes are
al)breviated.
These l)irds iuive been specially studied, with nuire or less gratifying success, by Malherbe,
Suudevall, Cal>anis, C'assin, and more recently E. Hargitt. The latter makes out 4r> genera
and .'iOH well-determined sjiecies, of all [)arts of the world except Madagascar, Australia,
and {'(dynesia, especially numerous iu the Neotropical and Oriental retjiinis, less so in Ethi-
opian, least .so in the I'ahearctic ami Nearctic. Their separation into minor groups has not
lieen agreed upcm ; our species have been thrown into three <livisions, which, however, I shall
not present, as considi'riition of exotic forms shows how the genera arc interr(dated, and how
nice is the i^radation in foiiii between the Ivorv-hill and the Flicker, which stand nearly at
678 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICI.
extremes of the subfamily ; the little diversity of which is thereby evident. One of our genera,
without very obvious external peculiarities, stands apart from the rest in the character uf the
tongue. In ordinary Picince tlie " horns " of the tongue are extraordinarily produced backward,
as slender jointed bony rods curling up over the skull behind, between the skin and the bone,
to the eyes or even farther; these rods are enwrapped in highly developed, specialized muscles,
by means of which the birds thrust out the tongue sometimes several inches beyond the bill
(lies. 73, 74). This is not the case in Sphifropicus, where the hyoid cornua do not extend be-
yond the base of the skull, and the tongue, consequently, is but little more extensible than in
ordinary birds. The tongue of Sphyropicus is beset at the end by numerous brushy filaments,
instead of the few acute barbs commonly observed in the family. Tlie same or a similar con-
dition of the parts is observed in Xenopicus. In most of our species the bill is perfectly straight,
wide and stout at the base, tapering regularly to a comjiressed and vertically truncate tip, chisel-
like, and strengthened by sharp ridges on the side of the upper mandible — an admirable tool
for cutting into trees ; and in all such, the nostrils are hidden by dense tufts of antrorse feathers.
In others, like the Flicker, the bill is smooth and barely curved ; the tip is acute and the nostrils
are exposed. There is a regular gradation in form between those with the most and the least
chisel-like bills. The former are more stocky-bodied birds, with larger head in comparison
with the c(jnstricted neck, as any one may satisfy himself by skinning a Pileated or Hairy
Woodpecker, and trying to pull the skin over the head — an operation which may be performed
on a Flicker. The ridges of the bill, the bevelling uf the end, the nasal tufts, and usually the
length of the outer hind toe, are characters which diminish or are lost together as M-e pass from
the Ivory-bill extreme to the Flicker end of the series. The claws are always large, strong,
sharp, and much curved ; the feet do not present striking generic modifications, except in the
three-toed genus Picoides ; the length of the outer hind toe is the most variable factor. The
wings are specially noteworthy for the shortness of the coverts, in exception to the picarian
rule; and the shortness of the first primary, which may fairly he called spurious ; but these
points and the remarkable character of the tail have been already mentioned. This member
oflers indispensable assistance in climbing, when the stiff strong quills are pressed against the
tree, and form a secure sujiport. To this end, the muscles are highly devehtped, and the last
bone (vomer or pujgostyle) is large and peculiar in shape. Woodpeckers rarely if ever climb
head downward, like Nuthatches, nor are the tarsi applied to their support.
Species are abundant in all the wooded- portion of this country, and wherever found are
nearly resident. For, although insectivorous, they feed principally upon dormant or at least
stationary insects, and therefore need not migrate ; they are, moreover, hardy birds. They dig
insects and their larvfe out of trees, and are eminently beneficial to the agriculturist and fruit-
grower. Contrary to a prevalent impression, their boring does not seem to injure fruit-trees,
which may be riddled with holes without harmful result. The number of noxious insects these
birds destroy is simply incalculable; what little fruit some of them steal is not to be mentioned
in the same connection, and they deserve the good-will of all. The birds of the genus Spiliy-
ropicus are probably an exception to most of these statements. But Woodpeckers also feed
largely upon nuts, berries, and other fruits; and those which thus vary their fare to the greatest
extent are apt to be more or less migratory, like the common Red-head for example. Wood-
peckers nest in holes in trees, which they excavate for themselves, sometimes to a great depth,
and lay numerous rounded pure white eggs, of which the shell has a smooth crystalline texture
like porcelain, on the chips and dust at the bottom of the hole. The voice is loud and harsh,
susceptible of little modulation. The plumage as a rule presents bright colors in large areas
or in striking contrasts, and is sometimes highly lustrous. The sexes are ordinarily distin-
guishable by color-markings ; the young either show sexual characters from the nest, or have
special markings of their own.
PICID.E — PICIN.E: WOODPECKERS. 579
Artificial Analysis of X. A. Getifra of Picklw.
Toes 3 Picoides
Toes 4.
Tongue not decidedly extensible.
Body entirely black ; head white Xenopicus
Body variegated ; head not white Sp/iyropicus
Tongue very extensible.
Conspicuously crested ; much over a foot long.
I'.ill white ; outer hind toe longer than outer front toe Campfphilus
Bill dark ; outer hind toe not longer than outer front toe Ceophliius
Not crested ; a foot long or less
Sides of upper mandible distinctly ridged ; wings spotted Dryobales
Sides of upper mandible indistinctly or not ridged.
Back lustrous green ; belly carmine Asipidesmus
Back blue-black ; belly wliite Melanerpe.s
Back black-barred ; belly not spotted Centurus
Back black-barred ; belly black-spotted Colaptes
CAMPE'PHILIJS. (Gr. (ca^Trr;, liawpe, a caterpillar ; (^tXoj, j'hilos, loving.) Ivory-bills.
Of largest size, with very strict neck, conspicuously crested head, and white bill; color black,
Via. 3'.M. — Ivoiwi.iiiia UiMjdpecker, I iiat. size. (From Brehm.)
witii white on wini:s and neck, and .'^carlet crest. Hill longer than hea»l, perfectly straight,
witli trniicate tip, bevelled side.-, witii slnmi: ridges; broader than higli at base Goiiys very
580
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PI CI.
long; more than half the coininissure. Nostrils concealed by large nasal tufts; antrorse
feathers also at base of lower inundible. Outer hlud toe much the longest. Wings pointed ;
4th, 3d, and 5th quills longest; 2d much shorter; 1st very short and narrow. Tail very cune-
ate. Containing the largest and most magnificent known Woodpeckers, of several species,
peculiar to America. The Imperial Woodpecker, C- imperialis, comes in Chihuahua within
50 miles of our border, and will no doubt be found in the mountains of S. Arizona or New
Mexico. It is larger than the Ivory-bill, with no white stripe on the neck, and black nasal
tufts. It has been attributed to the U. S., but I have never felt at liberty to use the Key on
the lock of futurity.
C. principalis. (Lat. ^rindpafe, principal; ^rinceps, chief. Figs. 391, 392, 393.) Ivory-
billed Woodpecker. White-billed Logcock. $ 9 • Glossy blue-black ; a stripe down
„ _ - - side of neck, one at base
of bill, the scapulars,
under wing-coverts, ends
of secondaries and of in-
ner primaries, the bill,
and nasal feathers white ;
feet grayish-blue ; iris
yellow. A long pointed
crest, in $ scarlet faced
with black, in 9 black.
Length 19.00-21.00; ex-
tent 30.00-33.00; wing
9.75-10.75; tail 7.00-
8.00 ; bill 2.50-2.75 ;
tarsus 2.00. Varies much
in size ; 9 smaller than
^. A large powerful
bird of the S. Atlantic
and Gulf States, formerly
Fig. 39;^. - Ivory-bUled Woodpecker. N_ ty ]^^f,_ Carolina along
the coast, to the Ohio river in the interior ; range restricted of late years, almost coincident
with maritime regions, N. and W. only to portions of S. Car., Ga., Ala., Miss., Ark., and very
small part of Texas; still locally common in the dark heavily-wooded swamps, but very wild
and wary, difficult to secure. Nests high in the most
inaccessible trees; hole deep, with oval opening; eggs
3-5, 1.35 X 1.00, on an average, varying moderately,
somewhat pointed, highly porcellanous ; they are laid
early, sometimes even in February, oftenest in March,
April, and early in May.
CKOPHLCE'US. (Gr. /cfw or mo), keo or keio, I split,
cleave ; and (^\oi6s, phloios, bark of trees.) Pileated
Woodpeckers. General form as in Campephilus. Bill
as in that genus, but not white, with shorter gonys only
about half as long as commissure ; nasal plumes as be-
fore, but no antrorse feathers on sides of lower mandible.
Wings and tail substantially as in Campephilus. Feet
peculiar : outer posterior shorter than outer anterior toe, and tarsus shorter than inner anterior
toe and claw; inner posterior toe very short (fig. 395). Bill dark; general color black, re-
lieved by white ; ^ with a pointed scarlet crest ; 9 crested, but with black only. Our single
Fig. 393 — Ivory-billed Woodpecker,
Left foot. (L. A. Fuertes.)
PICIDjE — PICIX.E : WOODPECKERS.
681
b'la. 'Mi. — Florida Pileated Woodpecker.
si)ccies is the representative of the famous Black Woodpecker of Europe, Picus martius — a
chissic bird, by some considered type of the Liuntean genus Picus. There are several typical
American species. (Hijlafomus Baikd, 1858, emended Hylntomus by Cabanis, 1862, and so
ill all former eds. of the Key, preoccupied by
Hylotoma Latreille, 1804, a genus of hy-
menoptcrous insects; Ceophlosus Cab. J. f. ().
1862, p. 176, type Picus lineatus, str\ctly con-
generic with our species ; and Phlosotonuis
Cab. MurTTeTn. IV, 1863, p. 102, type Picio
pileatits : see Auk, Jan. 1885, p. 52.) (t: ^^iBH^^fc.. ^^^fcHt-^a*^ . /
C. pilea'tus. (Lat. jyileatus, ca})])ed, i. e.
crested; pileiim, a cap. Fig. 394.) Pilk-
ATKD WOODPECKKR. P.LACK-IilLLED LoG-
COCK. General color dull black; throat,
jKist ocular line, a long stripe from nostrils
along side of head and neck, spreading on side
of breast, lining of wing, and a great white
space at bases of wing-quills, white, more or
less tinged with sulphury-yellow. Feathers
of Hanks and lielly often skirted, and some of the quills often tipped with the same. ^: Top
of head, including whole crest, and a cheek-patch, scarlet. 9- Posterior part of crest only
scarlet, and no cheek-jiatch. $9'- J>'11 <''"'k horn-color, paler below; feet blackish-plum-
beous; iris yellow. Quite cuiistaut in coloration; very variable in size. Length 15.00-19.00
inches, usually 17.00-1«.00 ; extent 25.00-
30.00, usually 26.00-28.00; winir 8.00-
lO.OO, usually 8.50-9.00; tail 6.00-7.00;
bill 1.50-2.00! 9 averaging about 2
inches less in length than ^, and other
ilimensions proportionally smaller. Xorth-
I in individuals averaging much larger
tiian southern ones. N. Am. at large,
common, resident anywhere iu heavy tim-
ber; but this is a very wild, wary, and soli-
tary bird — one which grows scarce^ or
di.sa|)pears among the first with the clearing away of forests in advance of civilization. It
extends nearly or quite to the limit of large trees iu the intcrinr, Imt ap^iarently not so far
coastwi.se in Canada, or in Alaska; and is practically absent from the 8. Rocky Mt. region of
the U. S. Nests iu remote and secluded woods and swamps, usually at a great height J the
taking of eggs is something of an rxplnit. The eggs are laid from April to June in dilTereut
parts of the cnuntry; they are 3 to 5 or niuic, and measure alxmt 1.25 X 0.95 on an average,
but range fmm 1.20 to 1.40 in h-iigth by 0.90 to 1.00 in breadth. Egijs <tf Woodpeckers are
piiiportioned rather to tlie bird's bulk of body than its linear dimensions ; those of Cawpr-
jihilus and Ceopldceus are relatively smaller than a Flicker's, fur instance. Among the curious
names one hears for this bird are Woodchiiek, WiMidcock, Cock of tjie Wnods, Johnny Cock,
and (jood God !
C. p. al>ietic'ola. (Lat. ahies, gen. nbieti.s, the fir-tree; colore, to inhabit, cultivate; incola,
an inlialiitant.) NoRriiERN PlLEATED WOODPECKER. This name designates northerly speci-
mens. ;(t or ne.ir the maximum <limensions above given. Range said to include heavily wooded
regions of N. Am. from the .southern Allei:hanies iiortliwaid. Bancs, Auk. Ajir. I8!t8, p. 176;
A. O. U. Suppl. List, Jan. J 899, p. 110, No. 405 «.
Fio. 39.5. — Ri(»ht foot of Pileated Woodpeoker, nat. size
(Ad. nat. del. E. C;
682
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICL
DRYOBA'TES. (Gr. bpvs, dnis, a tree, especially an oak, gen. 8pv6s, druos, in combining
form dryo-, and ^drrji, bates, one that treads, a goer; Qalvco, baino, I go, walk.) Black-
AND-WHITE-SPOTTEU WOODPECKERS. Bill more or less nearly equal to head in length, stout,
straight, truncate at tip, bevelled toward end, with sharp culnien and distinct lateral ridges on
upper mandible; at base rather broader than liigh, with large nasal tufts hiding nostrils; cnl-
men, commissure, and gouys straight or nearly so (fig. 399). Feet with outer posterior longer
than outer anterior toe ; inner anterior intermediate between these. Wing long, pointed by 4th,
3d, and .5th quills; 2d decidedly shorter (shorter than 7th, except in borealis) ; 1st fairly s])u-
rious. Species of medium and small size, all black-and-white (one brown-backed), the back
striped or barred, the wings with numerous small round white spots on the quills; ^ with red
on head. (Genus Picus of all previous eds. of the Key, as of most writers; but as the old
Linnsean Picus is now restricted to an entirely different European genus of Woodpeckers, we
select for the American genus, of which our familiar Downy Woodpecker is the type, the name
Dnjobates of Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 977.)
Analysis of Species and Varieties.
Back dark brown, neither striped nor fully barred with white arizonce
Back black, not striped lengthwise, but barred crosswise with white : " ladder-backs " (as in fig. 407).
One Large white space on side of head Crown black borealis
Two white stripes on sides of head
Nasal feathers white ; <f crown black, nape red, both white-spotted nuttalli
Nasal feathers brown ; (f crown and nape red, both white-spotted.
Outer web of outer tail-feather entirely black-barred scalaris bairdi
Outer web of outer tail-feather partly black-barred scalaris lucasanus
Back black, not barred crosswise, but striped lengthwise with white : " pole-backs."
Outer tail-feathers wholly white. Length usually 9-10 inches.
Greater coverts and inner secondaries profusely white-spotted. Eastern.
Of major size : length lO.OO-ll. 00 villoius leucomelas
Of medium size : length il.OO-lO.OO villosus proper
Of minor size : length 8.00-0.00 villosus auduboni
Greater coverts and inner secondaries sparsely or not white-spotted. Western.
White-bellied. Rocky mountain region villosus hyloscopus
Smoky-bellied. Pacific coast region villosus harrisi
Outer tail-feathers barred with black. Length usually 0-7 inches.
Greater coverts and inner secondaries profusely white-spotted. Eastern puhescens
Greater coverts and inner secondaries sparingly or not white-spotted.
White-bellied. Rocky mountain region pubescens homorus
Smoky-bellied. Pacific coast region pubescens gairdneri
D. borea'lis. (Lat. borealis. northern; inappro])riate for a IT. S. species. Fig. 390.) Eed-
cockaded Woodpecker. Body spotted and
crosswise banded, but not streaked. Head black
on top, with a large silky white auricular patch
embracing eye and extending on side of neck, bor-
dered above in ^ by a scarlet stripe not meeting
its fellow on nape ; nasal feathers and those on
side of under jaw white; black of crown connected
across lores with a black stripe running from cor-
ner of bill down side of throat and neck to be dis-
sipated on side of breast in black spots continued
less thickly along whole side and on crissum ;
under parts otherwise soiled white. Central tail-
feathers black ; others white, black-barred. Back
and wings barred with black and white ; larger
([uills and many coverts with the white bars resolved into paired spots. 9 lacking red cockade.
A peculiar isolated species; wings longer and more pointed than usual in this genus; 2d quill
Fig. 39G. — Red-cockaded Woodpecker, nat. size.
(Ad. nat. del. E. 0.)
PICID.E — PICIX.E . WOODPECKERS.
583
longer than 7th; spurious primary very short; bill smaller thau usual, decidedly shorter than
head. Length 8.00-8.50 ; extent 14.00-15.00 ; wing 4.50-4.90 ; tail 3.25-3.75. Pine swamps
and barrens of the S. Atlantic and Gulf States; N. to Pennsylvania and New Jersey occa-
sionally; W. to Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Indian Territory, and a small p»art of Texas.
Eggs 3-G, 0.95 X 0.70 on an average, ranging in length from 0.90 to 1 .0.5.
D. scala'ris baird'i. (Lat. scalaris, ladder-like; scala, a scale, flight of stairs, etc.; alhidiug
to the black and white cross-bars on the back. To S. F. Baird.) Texan Woodpecker.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker. Entire back, from nape to upper tail-coverts, barred across
in bhick and white stripes of equal width ; a narrow space on back of neck, upper tail-coverts,
and 4 middle tail-feathers, entirely black ; wing-coverts with a round white spot at end of each
feather, and a hidden spot or jiair <>f spots farther along the feather. Primaries regularly
marked with white sp<its in pairs on edges of webs, those on outer wel>s small and angular, ou
inner webs larger and more rounded; on secondaries these S[)ots changing to broken bars; so
tliat the primaries and coverts are s]iotted alike, the secondaries and back barred alike. Crown
black, speckled with white, in ^ extensively crimson; the feathers being black, specked with
white, finally tipped with red, which becomes continuous on hind head, where the white specks
cease. Side of head white, with a loug black stripe from bill under eye, widening behind,
there joining a black jiostocular stripe and spreading over side of neck. Nasal feathers smoky-
brown. Under parts ranging from soiled white to smoky-gray, with numerous black spots on
sides. Hanks, an<l crissum ; lateral tail-feathers perfectly barred with black and white in equal
amounts. 9 lacking red on crown. Small: length 7.00-7.50; extent 13.00 ; wing 3..50-4.00;
tail 2.7.5-3.00; bill 0.6G-0.87. Southwestern U. S., Texas to California, N. to Utah, Nevada,
and S. Colorado, and southward to the table lands of Mexico. Eggs 0.80 X 0.65. It is obvi-
ously impossible, iu the cases of these profusely spotted Woodpeckers, to frame a description
which will meet every case, without being too vague, or going into tedious particulars. The
foregoing, taken from Rio Grande specimens, covers the usual style of the species as found
along our southern border; but the student must not be surprised if I fail to account for every
spot of the particular specimen he has in hand. P. scalarii'i of former eds. of the Key, now
subspecifically distinguished from typical Mexican scalarix, which is smaller. P. bairdt ScL.
in Malherbe's Monog. Pic. i, 1801, p. I 18, pi. 27, figs. 7, 8; D. scalaris hairdi Kidgw. Man.
1887, p. 285; Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 396. The
difference is so slight that the two are united by
the latest monographer of the family (HARdiTT,
Cat. Pic. Brit. Mus. 1890, p. 246) under the name
of Dcndrocopus scalaris.
D. s. luoasa'iius. (Of Cape St. Lucas.) St.
Lucas Woodpecker. A local race of scalaris.
Smoky-brown nasal tufts and style of head and
back as in that species. Lateral tail-feathers im-
perfectly barred and only toward end, as iu nuttalli.
Red of crown of ^ broken up anteriorly. Peculiar
in disproportionate size of bill and feet: bill 1. 10;
tarsus 0.75. Lower California. Picas liicasanas
Xantus, 18.59; P. scalaris liicasa)nis CoVKH, of
all previous eds. of the Key; iJri/obates scalaris
hicasaints Kiixiw. 1885; A. O. U. Lists, 1886-95,
No. '.VM\(i.
I>. uut'talli. (To Thos. Niittall. Fii:. .•{!»7.)
NrTT.\Li.'.s Wdohpecker. Similar, but niorr white, this jirevailing on back over the black
l)ars; nape chiefly white; nasal tufts bullish or white; lateral tail-feathers, especially, s|iaisc]y
Fio. 307
(From Elliot.)
NuttiiU's Wooilpccker, nat. size.
584
SYSTEM A TIC S YNOPSIS. — PICARI.E - PICI.
Fig. 398. — Hairy Woodpecker. (From The Osprey.)
PICIDyE — PICIN.E : WOODPECKERS.
585
or imperfectly barred. The Californian coast form, N. to Oregon, differing decidedly in some
respects, and constantly. Barring restricted to back proper; iiind neck black, succeeded ante-
riorly by a white space adjoining the red, wanting in scalaris, where red joins black. Red
chiefly confined to occiput ; rest of crown black, sprinkled with white. Lateral tail-feathers
white, not barred thn>ug]i()Ut, having but 1-.3 black bars, all beyond their middles, all but the
terminal one of these broken. White postocular stripe running into white nuchal area, but
cut off from white of shoulders. White maxillary stripe enclosed in black as in scalaris, but
tliis black continuous with the cervical black j)atch, which is not tlie case in scalaris. No
smoky-brown state of under parts observed. Picus scalaris nuttalli of all previous eds. of
Key, now raised to specific rank ; Driiohates nuttallii Ridgw. Proc. U. S. Xat. Mus. viii 1885
p. hiiH] A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. .397.
D. arizo'nae. (Lat. oi' Arizona.) ARIZONA Woodpeckkk. Entirely different from any of
the foregoing or following species. Adult ^: Upper parts dark brown, immaculate; toj) of
head, rump, and 4 middle tail-feathers darker; occiput with scarlet band. Sides of head with
white postocular and maxillary bands, expanded and more or less confluent on sides of neck.
Wiug-(piills like back, their outer webs with a few small white spots, inner webs with more
numerous larger white spots or broken bars. Outermost tail-feathers evenly barred through-
out with blackish-brown and white; intermediate feathers jtartly so banded, but mostly black-
ish. Entire under parts sordid whitish, thickly spotted with dusky; the markings few and
somewhat linear on throat, crowded and cordate on breast, wideuing and tending to become
bars (m lower belly, flanks, and crissum. Bill and feet blackish-plumbeous. Size of a small
rillostis; wing 4.50; tail 3.00; bill 1.12; tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw 0.90. 9 similar:
no red on nape ; color of upper parts duller, and some feathers of middle of back barred with
white. Young: Like adults of the respective sexes; but top of head brown like back, and
spotted with red. A Mexican species, occurring in the mountains of S. W. New Mexico and
S. Arizona. Eggs 3 or more, indistinguishable from those of related species ; size about
0.84 X 0.02. P. stricMandi of the Key, 2d and 3d eds. 1884, 1887, p. 482, and Dnjohates
stricklundi of the A. 0. U. List, 1st ed. 188G, No. 398, but not the true P. stricklumli of
Malhf.rbe, Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 373, with which erroneously identified by Ridgw. Proc. U. S.
Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, p. 355; P. amo«« Hargitt, Ibis, Apr. 1880, .p. 115; Dnjohates ari-
some Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 286; Coue.s, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed.
1895, No. 398; Dendrocopus arizonce IIargitt, Cat. Pic. Brit. Mus. 18!)0, p. 228, where
Malherbe's plate (pi. 28,
hi,'- 4. of l:is Monog. Pic.)
and dcscr. of the ad. ^ of
]'. stricklandi is said to
have l)een taken from a
specimen of D. arizotuc in
the British Museum ; so
that our malidentification
was (piitc an easy mistake.
D. villo'siis. (Lat. vil-
lusKs, hairy, shaggy, vil-
lous. Figs. 398, 399.)
IIaikv Wgodi'Kckek.
(4ki;at (iriNEA Wood-
I'KCKKR. Spotted and
Irngthwisc streaked, but
not banded. Usually 9-10 long; outer tail-feathers wholly white. Back black, with a long
white stripe down the middle. Quills and tviug-corerts with a. pn>fusiou of white spots; usu-
Fio. 309. — Hiury WiM).l|)cc-ki>r, iiat. Hize. (Aii. nut. drl. E. C.)
586 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICI.
ally 6-7 pairs on primaries, several on all secondaries, and one or more on each covert. Four
middle tail-feathers black ; next pair black and white ; next two pairs white, as stated. Under
parts white. Crown and sides of head black, with a white stripe over and behind eye ; an-
other from nasal feathers running below eye to spread on side of neck ; a scarlet nuchal band
in ^ , sometimes broken in two, wanting in 9 • Young with crown mostly red or bronzy, or
even yellowish. Eastern N. Am., common; accidental in England. Length usually 9.00-
10.00; extent 15.50-17.50; wing 4.50-5.00; tail 3.50; bill 1.12; whole foot 1.06. Varies
greatly in size, mainly according to latitude; birds of the dimensions just given constitute
typical rillosus of most parts of the U. S., directly connected on the one hand with the larger
northern D. v. leucomelas, on the other witli tiie smaller D. r. auduhoni. These facts have
long been known, and have been recognized in former editions of the Key by presenting the
species under the three phases called a. major, h. medius, and c. minor — terms now replaced by
more formal nomenclature of the two extremes, leaving the mean to stand as D. rillosus proper.
This species in the West shades directly into D. v. hyloscopns and D. v. harrisi, by disappear-
ance of the spots from the coverts and inner secondaries ; the change occurs on the eastern
slopes of the Rocky Mts. One of the common eastern U. S. Woodpeckers, but not so often
noticed as the little pubescens, as it is less familiar, and keeps more in the woods. Eesident
wherever occurring. Eggs 3-6, or 7, 1.00 X 0.75 to 0.85 X 0.65, Apr.-June.
D V. leucom'elas. (Gr. XevKos, leitkos, white, and /x«\af, melas, black.) Northern Hairy
WooDX'ECKER. Boddaert's WOODPECKER. Very large and hoary. Length up to 11.00 ;
wing over 5.00; tail nearly 4.00; whole foot 1.90; bill 1.50! Northern N. Am., from the
northern tier of the U. S. through British America to the Pacific in Alaska.
D. V. aud'uboni. (To J. J. Audubon.) SOUTHERN Hairy Woodpecker. Audubon's
Woodpecker. Very small and dark. Grading down to 8.00, thus within an inch of the
maximum of D. pubescens. South Atlantic and Gulf States, from N. Carolina and Tennes-
see to Louisiana and S. E. Texas.
D. V. hylos'copus. (Gr. vXoa-Konos, hidoscopos, watching over woodland, as the god Pan was
said to do, or as any forester does ; vXrj, hide, woods, and o-kottos, a watchman.) Rocky Moun-
tain Hairy Woodpecker. Cabanis' Woodpecker. Exactly like ctZZosws, excepting fewer
wing-spots and white lores ; generally none on coverts and inner quills ; with specimens enough
we can see the spots disappear one by one. Generally white below, but in some regions less
pure and immaculate, thus grading into D. v. harrisi, from which it was not separated in the
lst-3d editions of the Key. Size of average villosus. Western U. S. from the Rocky Mts. to
the Pacific, excepting the special range of 2). r. harrisi, and southward into Mexico. This is the
ordinary white-bellied " hairy " Woodpecker of wooded regions in most parts of the Western
U. S., as distinguished from the smoky-bellied harrisi of the N. W. coast region. Dryobates
hyloscopus, Cab. and Heine, Mus. Hein. iv, Pt. ii, 1863, p. 69 ; D. r. hyloscopns Brewst.
Auk, July, 1888, p. 252; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 393 d. P. v. hyloscopns CouES,
Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903.
D. V. montic'ola. (Lat. monticola, inhabitant of a mountain ; mons, gen. montis, a moun-
tain; colere, to cultivate, inhabit; incola, an inhabitant.) Rocky Mountain Hairy Wood-
pecker. Said to differ from D. r. hyloscopus in larger size, whiter under parts, and chiefly or
entirely black lores as in rillosus. Wing 5.20 ; tail 4.20. Alleged range in the Rocky Mts.
from New Mexico to Montana, and Uintah Mts. of Utah. D. r. montanus Anthony, Auk,
Jan. 1896, p. 32, changed to D. v. monticola Anthony, Auk, Jan. 1898, p. 54 ; A. 0. U. Suppl.
List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 1]0, No. 393 e.
D. V. har'risi. (To Edward Harris, friend of Audubon, and his companion on the memorable
Missouri River voyage of 1843.) CoLUiMBiAN Hairy Woodpecker. Harris' Wood-
pecker. Exactly like hyloscopus, in fewness or entire lack of white spots on the wing-coverts
and inner quills, but smoky-gray instead of white below, and sometimes acquiring a few thin
PICID.E — PICIN.E : WOODPECKERS.
b%l
black streaks on the sides Size of hijloscopus or average cillosiis. Pacific coast region, N.
Califoniia to S- Alaska, especially well marked in the Columbia River region and in British
Columbia. Picks harrisii Aud. 1839; P. o. harnsii Coves, Key, orig. ed. 1872, )>. ]!»4
(including hyloscopas), and of most later writers ;
Dryohates v. harrisii Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 28.'?
(including hyloscopus ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed.
1895, No. 393 c (excluding hijloscopus).
D. pubes'ceus. (Lat. pubescens, coming to pu-
berty; i. e. hairy. Figs. 400, 401.) Uowny
Woodpecker. Little Guinea Woodpecker.
"Checkerboard." Usually 6-7 long; outer
tail-feathers barred with black and white. Ex-
actly like D. rillosus, except in these respects.
Length 6.00-7.00; extent 11.00-12.00; wing
3.50-4.00; tail under 3.00; bill about O.G(i;
whole foot 1.25. Eastern N. Am., common in
orchards, and all wooded places ; accidental in
England. Range substantially the same as that
of the Hairy Woodpecker, but in most U. S.
localities the more abundant of the two ; on the
whole rather more southerly; the most typical
form from the 8. Atlantic and Gulf states, at or
near minimum dimensions here given. To the
average bird of the eastern United States the
A. 0. U. now gives the name D. p. meclianus,
restricting pubescens proper to the small southern
form (see S\v. F. B. A. ii, 1831, p. 308; Brewst.
Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 82; A. 0. U. List, ibid., p. 120,
No. 394 c). This is the little spotted bird that bores the ajiple-trees so persistently; but it does
not ap|)ear to hurt them. There is no such difference in the character of the plumage as the
terms "downy" and "hairy" imply. Both these species are commonly called Sapsuckers, a
name that siiouKl be restricted to the species of Sphyropicus, and also Guinea Woodpeckers,
from the profusion of white spots as on the Guinea-hen
(Xumidd ntelenyris). The nest of the little Checker-
board may be found in a dead limb or trunk of any tree.
Eggs 3-6, 0.85 X 0.65 to 0.70 X 0,55, April-June.
D. p. nel'soiii. (To E. W. Nelson.) Northern
DdwxY Woodpecker. Nelson's Woodpecker.
Bearing same relation to D. pubescens medidnus that
h-ucomclits does to rillosus, being large ami hoary.
Alaska and northern British America. Orkimiolsek,
I'l. r. S. Nat. .Mus. xviii, 1895, p. 549; A. ( ». U.
."^uppl. List, Auk, Jan. I8!t7. ]>. 120, No. 394 d. (lu-
cluded under pubescens iu all fininer eds. of tlic Ki'V.)
I>. p. huiiiu'riis. (Gr. o/nopor, homoros, neighboring, bordering on ; ofios. homos, same, com-
riKin. joint, and opos, horos, boundary, limit.) RocKY Moi'NTAiN Downy Woodpeckkk.
Batchelder's Woodpecker. Bearing same relation to D. pubescens that hyloscopus does
to rillosus, having few or no sp<jts on coverts and inner quills; belly white, as in ])ubcsccns.
Rixky Mt. region of U. 8. and British Columbia and westward, but rarer than pubescens in
tile East and not found in some places where hyloscopus abounds ; types of the subspecies from
Fio. 400. — Downy Woodpecker.
Fio. 401. — Downy Woodpcikfr, nat size
(A.l. iiiit. del, E. C.)
688
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICA RLE — PIC I.
southern California; others from New Mexico and Colorado. This form has until lately l)een
included in the Key and otlier works uudevgairdneri; but it ofiers a case precisely parallel witli
that of hyloscopus as compared with harrisi. Pieiis gairdneri Auct. in part, of former eds. of
the Key. P. meridionaUs Heerm. nee Sw. D. homorus Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. iv, pt. 2,
1863, p. 65. D. p. homorus Ridgw. Man. 2d ed. 1896, p. 597; A. O. U. Suppl. List, Auk,
Jan. 1897, p. 126; Dryobates p. oreoeeus Batch. Auk, July, 1889, p. 253; A. 0. U. List,
2d ed. 189.5, No. 394 b. Pieus p. oreoeeus Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903.
D. p. gaird'neri. (To Dr. Meredith Gairdner, a Scotch naturalist.) Columbian Downy
Woodpecker. Gairdner's Woodpecker. Bearing the same relation to D.pubescens that
harrisi does to villosus ; wing-spots few or wanting on inner quills and coverts ; belly smoky-
gray. Pacific Coast region of the United States and British Columbia. Picus gairdnerii And.
1839; P. pubescens gairdnerii Coues, Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 194 (including homorus), and
of most later writers ; Dryobates 2)- gairdnerii Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 283 (including homorus);
A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 394 « (excluding homorus) ; also, B. p.fumidus Maynard,
Orn. and Ool. Apr. 1889, p. 58.
XENOPI'CUS. (Gr. |eVos, xenos, rare, foreign.) Masked Woodpeckers. Form as in
Dryobates. Body uniformly black. Head white. Tongue but little more extensible than in
Sphyropicus ; its tip can be protruded less than an inch.
X. albolarva'tus. (Lat. alho, with white ; larratus, masked.) White-headed Wood-
pecker. Body not banded, streaked, nor spotted. Uniform black ; whole head white, in ^
with a scarlet nuchal band ; a large
patch of white on wing, formed by white
spaces on both webs of primaries, divided
only by their black shafts; on seconda-
ries connnonly resolved into a number
of blotches. Bill and feet plumbeous-
blackish. Iris red. 9 without red on
nape. Length 8.75-9.50; extent 15.75-
16.25 ; wing 5.00-5.25 ; tail 3.50. Moun-
tains of California, Oregon, Washington,
and southern British Columbia ; E. to
some portit)ns of Idaho and Utah, com-
mon in pine woods, ranging up to 9,000
feet or more, resident or imperfectly mi-
gratory. A remarkable species, unique
in coloration, and still more peculiar in
the little extensibility of the tongue,
which can be pulled out scarcely an
inch ; that of D. villosus, on the con-
trary, extending 2 inches or more beyond
end of bill. This species nests chiefly in
June, but from May to July, seldom at
any considerable height, often quite near
the ground; eggs 3-7, oftenest4, averag-
ing 0.95 X 0.70; with a variation of
0.15 in length.
PICOl'DES. (Lat. 2ncits, a wood-
pecker; Gr. fidos, eidos, resemblance.
Fig. 402.) Three-toed Woodpeckers. Three-toed: hallux (1st toe) absent, 4th toe re-
versed as usual in the family. Bill about as long as head, stout, straight, with bevelled end
Fig 402. — European Three-toed Woodpecker ( Picoides tri-
dactylus), J iiat. size ; }iardly distiuguishable in the cut from P.
americanus. (From Brehm. )
PICID.E—PICIN.E: WOODPECKERS.
589
and lateral ridges, aud nasal tufts hiding nostrils ; very broad and mucli depressed at base, with
lateral ridges very low d(nvn, in most of their length close to and parallel with commissure;
nostrils very near commissure ; gonys about as long as from nostrils to end of bill. Wings
very long and pointed; 1st quill spurious; 2d between 6th and 7tii in length. Crown with a
square yellow patch in $ ; sides of head striped, of body barred, with black and white ; under
parts otherwise wliite; quills but not coverts with white spots; tail-feathers unbarred, outer
white, central black. All the species of this genus are unfjuestionably modified derivatives of
one circumpolar stock; the American seem to have become completely differentiated from the
Asiatic and European, and furtiier divergence has perfectly separated arctieus from americanus ;
but dorsalis, alascensis, and americanus are still linked together.
Analysis oj Species anil Subspecies.
Back uniform black arctieus
Back with entirely interrupted lengthwise white stripe innericanus
Back with nearly or (juite uninterrupted lengthwise white stripe. Rocky Mts , U. S a. dorsalis
Back intermediate between the two foregoing. Alaska a. alascensis
P. arc'tieus. (Lat. arctieus, arctic. Fig. 403.) Black-backed Tiiimi - ioed Wodd-
I'ECKEK. Entire upper parts glossy
blue-black, with only a few white spots
])aired on wing-fiuills. Below, white
from hill to tail; side.-;. Hanks, and
lining of wings barred with black. A i
slight or concealed white postocular
strii)e (often wanting) and a side-stripe
on head from across forehead to neck, 1
cut off by black from white of under
parts. Four nii(l<Uo tail-feathers black,
rest white, but the intermediate one ^^^ ^^ '
usually touched with black. $ with a
square yellow patch on crown, wanting " '' ■*'>-
in 9- I>'11 i'lid feet blackish-plumbe- j .
ous; iris brown. Length 9.00-10.00; "-^ '.
extent 15.00-17.00; wing 5.00-5.r)0; ' M
tail 4.00; bill 1.25 or more. Xorthera > j
N. Am., S. in winter through most of «' '^•
New England and generally along the |
northern tier of U. S., casually to Con-
necticut, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, in
the mountains of the West to about 39°
in Nevada and California. Breeds all
through its regular range, which in- ' ^V**?/
chides the Ailirondacks of New York. ; /it
and is not S[)ecially marked in habits, ' ^'~' "
I'ut mainly affects coniferous forests. '
I'.ggs oftcne.st 4, in May and June, aver- \
auiiii: (».!».■> X 0.72.
I>. iiiiiei-iea'iius. (Of America.) L.\i)- ''^^
l>l".Ii-BACKEI> TllRKE-THEl) W(l()I>- Fio 403 — Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker. (From The Osprey.)
I'ECKKU. Fpiier parts black, middle line white, more or less completely barred across with
black; general effect thus of a " ladder- back." All primaries and secondaries with paired
590 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PlCARl.E — PICl.
white spots or bars. Four middle tail-leathers black, others white, the intermediate one usu-
ally touched with black. Below, white from bill to tail ; sides. Hanks, and lining of wings
black-barred. A white postocular stripe to nape, and a larger white stripe from lore to side
of neck. ^ with a yellow square on crown, wanting in 9 > i" both, crown seldom uniform
black. J3ill and feet blackish-plumbeous; iris bro\A-n. Smaller than the last; length 8.00-
9.00; extent 14.00-16.00; wing 4.50-5.00; tail under 4.00; bill 1.25 or less; whole foot 1.50.
Northern N. Am. to the limit of large conifers, S. to Massachusetts and along northern tier
of states, less frequently than the foregoing, but breeds with it in the Adirondacks ; general
liabits the same ; eggs indistinguishable, averaging a trifle smaller, 0.92 X 0.70.
P. a. alascen'sis. (Lat. of Alaska.) Alaskan Three-toed Woodpecker. Resem-
bling the last; back more broadly barred with white, the bars more or less confluent; white
postocular stripe more distinct; dark bars of the sides narrower. Alaska, British Columbia,
and Washington. P. tridactijlus alascensis Nelsox, Auk, Apr. 1884, p. 165; P. americamts
alascensis Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, p. 355; Coues, Key, 3d ed. 1887, p. 880;
A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, p. 162, No. 401 a.
P. a. dorsa'lis. (Lat. dorsalis, relating to dorsum, the back.) Pole-backed Three-toed
Woodpecker. In extreme case, back with an uninterrupted white lengthwise stripe, pro-
ducing the effect of a "pole-back," as in D. villosus for instance; this is produced by such
increase of white on ends of individual feathers that their black bases do not show, the subter-
minal black bars of P. americanus disappearing. Usually partly banded black and white, and
grading bar by bar into americanus. The amount of spotting on wings is about as in D. har-
risi — on primaries and secondaries, not on coverts. Size of americanus. Rocky Mt. region,
S. to New Mexico and Arizona, where it breeds, N. and N. W. indefinitely, inosculating with
other forms. Eggs 5 or fewer, indistinguishable, April-June.
SPHYROPI'CUS. (Gr. o-(/)Opa, sp/mra, a hammer; and Lat. jj?c?(s.) Sap-sucking Wood-
peckers. Bill about as long as head, not so stout and chisel-like as in the foregoing genera;
pointed, with little bevelling at extreme end only, and lateral ridges running obliquely into the
commissure at about its middle ; culmen and gonys both a little curved ; nasal tufts moderate.
Wing pointed by 4th primary ; 3d and 5th nearly as long; 2d between 6th and 7th ; spurious
1st very short. Tail-feathers long-acurninate. Outer hind toe little longer than outer front
one; inner hind toe extremely short. Plumage highly variegated with yellow and red. Sexes
unlike in S. vurius, extremely so in S. thyroideus, alike in S. ruber; such variation in this
respect among congeneric species being highly exceptional in the ftimily. Tongue scarcely
extensile; tip obtuse, brushy ; hyoid bones short. Birds of this remarkable genus feed much
upon fruits, as well as insects, and also upon sap and soft inner bark (cambium); they injure
fruit-trees by stripping off the bark, sometimes in large areas, instead of simply boring holes.
Of the several small species commonly called " sapsuckers," they alone deserve the name.
In declaring war against Woodpeckers, the agriculturist will do well to discriminate between
these somewhat injurious and the highly beneficial species.
Analysis 0/ Species and Subspecies (adnlls).
Sexes sub-similar. Belly yellowish oi' whitish. Rump black and white. Oblique white wing-bar.
Head fully striped. Breast witli black patch. Crown crimson ; cf throat crimson, $ wliite.
Crimson of (f throat strict ; no red band on nape. Belly yellowish. Eastern varius
Crimson of (J throat spreading ; additional red on nape. Belly whitish. Western v. nitchalis
Sexes similar. Whole head, neck, and breast, crimson or carmine. Pacific Coast ruber
Sexes very dissimilar. Belly clear yellow. Rump immaculate white.
Oblique white wing-bar. Head glossy black, striped with white. Throat crimson. No circumscribed black
breast-plate thi/rinilens (f
No wliite wing-bar. Head brown, without definite white or red. An Isolated black breast-plate. Most of the
body barred thyroideus 9
PICID.E — PICIX.E : WOODPECKERS.
591
Fig. 404. — Tellow-belUed Woodpecker, nat. size. (Ad. nat.
del. E. C.)
S. va'rius. (Lat. varius, variegated. Fig. 404.) Yellow-bellied AVoodpecker. Red-
THKOATED Sapsucker. Squealer. Crowu crimsdu, bordered all arouud witli black ; chin,
throat, and breast black, enclosing a large crimi^ou patch on the former (in (J; in 9 this patch
white) ; sides of head with a white line
starting from nasal feathers and dividing
black of throat fnjm a transocular black
stripe, this separated from black of crown
by a white postocular stripe; all tliese
stripes frequently yellowish. Under parts
dingy yellow, brownish and with sagittate
dusky marks on sides. Back variegated
with black and yellowish. Wings black
with a large oblique white bar on coverts ;
quills with numerous paired white spots
on edges of both webs. Tail black, most
of the feathers white-edged ; inner webs
of the middle pair, and upper coverts,
mostly white. Bill brownish ; feet green-
ish-plumbeous ; iris brown. Young birds
lack definite black areas of head and
breast, and crimson throat-patch, these parts being mottled gray ; but in any plumage the bird
is recognized by its yellotcness, diflercnt from what is seeu iu any other eastern species, and
broad white wing-bar, to say nothing of generic characters. Length 8.25-8.75; extent 15.00-
IG.OO; wing 4.80-5.20; tail 3.25. Eastern X. Am., common in most U. S. localities, as either
summer resident or migratory; in the interior X. to Gl^ or farther, X. W. to the borders of British
Columbia; in the U. S. west to the Dakotas, Xebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas;
S. in winter from Virginia to Central Am. and the West Indies : accidental in Greenland. The
Sapsucker breeds throughout the greater part of its X. Am. range, S. in the mountains of Xortii
Carolina and Tennessee; eggs 5-7, about 0.87 X 0.07, varying at least 0.10 in length; they
are mostly laid late in May and early in June. The hyoid bones are the sliortest of those
of any X. Am. species; the tongue is protrusible only about ^ inch beyond bill. This is the
true Sajisucker, which injures the orchardist, and brings the beneficial species of Dri/ohates
into disrepute.
S. V. nueha'lis. (Lat. »»c/io/i'.s, pertaining to «»c7io, the nape ; not classic.) XucHAL Wdod-
PECKEK. Ked-naped Sap.sicker. Like the last ; with an additional band of scarlet on
nape (where the white is seldom even tinged with red in <S'. varii(s) ; red throat-patch invading
the surrounding black, and 9 "'itli this patch at least iu part red ; all the yellowish variega-
tion very pale, almost white on belly (where varius is yellowest) : bill slaty-black (not brown-
ish). Rocky Mt. region, U. S., and British Provinces, W. to Sierras and Cascades; S. into
Mi'xico and Lower California; casually to Kansas and southern California. In S. rarius red
rarely spreads on uajje, and 9 seldom has any on throat. In S. r. nuchalis this extension ot
red is a stej) which culminates in S. ruber. The general habits, nest, and eggs are the same as
those of <S'. varius.
S. ruber. (Lat. r?<&er, red.) Red-brea.stei) Woodpecker. Adult ^9= Lik«^ tl •' ''^^t.
but whole head, neck, and breast carmine or crimson, in which the markings of rnrtus are
more or less completely dissolved, though usually traceable; iu the young, gray with a dull
reddish suffusion, as if the head had been dipped in claret wine. Size of the hist. Pacific Cojist
region, from S. Alaska to X. Lower California, and E. of the Ca.«cade range iu Oregon, W;uih-
iuL'ton. and British Columbia, resident southcriy, mi^'ratory northerly, altundant, especially iu
coniferous woods- A remarkable extreme, long supposed to be pt-rfectly distinct; the ^ now
692
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICI.
knovvu to iiitergrade iu every degree with that of S. v. nuchalis. On the strength of this fact
the bird was rated as a subspecies, ^S*. v. ruber, in the 2d-4th eds. of the Key. But the sexes
are alike ; consequently there is no intergradation iu the 9 i and specific distinctness may be
formally declared on this score. The red of the head is only less complete than in Melanerpes
erythrocephalus, in full-feathered adults ; its tint, and extent on the breast, vary much. Nests
in deciduous trees, as well as conifers, and preferably live ones, excavating a hole 6 to 12
inches deep, with a small round opening, usually at considerable height ; eggs 5 or 6, averag-
ing 0.92 X 0.69, laid from the latter half of April to the middle of June in different latitudes or
at different altitudes.
S. thyroi'deus. (Gr. dvpeoetbr]s, thureoeides, Lat. thyroideus, shield-like; dvpeos, thureos, a
shield ; elBos, resemblance ; alluding to black plastron of 9- Figs. 405, 406.) Brown-headed
Woodpecker ( 9 ). Black-breasted Woodpecker ( 9 )• Red-throated Woodpecker
((?)• Williamson's Woodpecker ((J). Adult ^: Glossy black, including all the tail-
feathers. Belly gamboge yellow. A nar-
row scarlet patch on throat. Upper tail-
coverts, broad oblique bar on wing-coverts,
postocular stripe, stripe from nostrils below
eye and ear, and small, iu part paired,
spots on quills, white. Lining of wings,
sides of body, Hanks, and crissum varied
with white, leaving the black in bars and
cordate spots. Bill slate-color ; mouth
pinkish, feet greenish-gray, claws black,
iris dark reddish-brown. Length 9.00-
9.50; extent 16.00-17.00; wing 5.00-
5..50; tail 3.75; bill 0.90; whole foot
1.67. Adult 9: Altogether different ; only
upper tail-coverts white and belly yellow
as in ^ ; only continuously black in a
shield-shaped area of varying extent on breast. Otherwise, entire body, including wing-
coverts, inner secondaries and most tail-feathers, closely and regularly barred crosswise with
black and white, or brownish-wliite (most
brownish on body, quite white on wings and
tail). Whole head uniform hair-brown, in-
vaded more or less with the variegation of the
body, sometimes with traces of the postocu-
lar stripe of ^, and sometimes touched with
red on throat. Quills more heavily white-
spotted than in ^, the spots paired on all
the feathers, changing to bars on the inner
ones. Two or three intermediate tail-feath-
ers black, but middle and one or two outer
pairs barred. Size of the ^. The extraor-
dinary sexual differences long kept thyroi-
deus and '■'■ williamsoni^^ apart in the books
as perfectly distinct species ; especially as
they begin with the first featherings, fledg-
lings in the nest showing the opposite patterns perfectly. Young (J: Like adult ; no red in
white throat-patch; belly merely yellowish; tail varied with white. Young 9- Like adult,
but whole head, neck, and breast banded with dusky and gray, conformable with the general
Fig. 405. — Browu-headed Woodpecker ( $), nat. size.
nat. del. E. C.)
(Ad.
Fig. 400. — Red-throated Woodpecker ( (f ), nat. size
(Ad. nat. del. E. C.)
PICID.E- PICIX.E: WOODPECKERS. 593
variegation of body. The best ? ? are those with cleanest brown head and -most black breast.
Though the general eflPect of this beautiful Woodpecker is so peculiar, in each sex, the colora-
tion is referable to tlie pattern of *S'. varius. In both, yellow belly, red throat ($), white
upper tail-coverts, spotted (juills, varied Hanks and crissum, stripes on head, black breast (only
circuiMscribcd in 9), white oblique wing-bar (only developed in ^), variegation of inner web
of middle tail-feather ( 9 and young ^) ; general variegation of back of varius repeated in 9 ,
while gray head of young varius is met by brown head of 9 thyroukus. The identity of the
sexes was not established till 1873; the 9 was first discovered, and named thyroideus in 18.")l ;
the $ was described as wiUiamsoni in 18.57, as rubrigularis in 1858. Rocky Mts. to the Pa-
cific, U. S. and British Columbia, S. into Mexico, migratory northerly, resident southerly,
chiefiy in the pine-belt, of winch it is one of tlie characteristic s|)ecies, like Lewis' Wood-
])ecker, ("lark's Crow, Stellcr's Jay, and other birds; al)un(lant in favorable localities up to
1(),()()() feet. Nest in dead wood, usually coniferous, at little or great height indifferently;
eggs 3-7, oftenest 5 or 6, averaging 0.97 X 0.07, with a range of 0.12 difference in length.
This extremely interesting bird has been referred to no fewer than 6 genera — Ptcus, Piluumus,
Centurus, Colnptes, Melanerpes, and Cladoscopus — besides its own. It is strictly a Sphyro-
picus, witii little extensible, brushy, and obtuse tongue, and feeds on juices of trees, as well as
insects and berries.
CENTU'RUS. (Gr. Kevrpov, kentron, a priclde; ovpd, onrn, tail ; l)ut the species not sharper-
tailed than other Woodpeckers.) Zebka WoodI'KCKEI^s. Bill about as long as head, ccjin-
pressed, little bevelled or truncate at end, with decidedly curved culnien ; lateral ridges near
culmen, subsiding before reaching end of bill; nasal tufts moderate, partly concealing nostrils.
Outer hind toe shorter than outer anterior one. Wings and tail ordinary. Sexes alike, except
less or no red on head of 9 • " Ladder-backed ; " back and wings, except larger quills, closely
banded with black and white; primaries with large white blotches near base, and usually a
few smaller spots; Ixdow, immaculate, except sagittate black marks on flanks and crissum;
i>elly tinged with red or yellow; 9-10 long; wing about 500; tail about- 3.50. In these
characters, exhibited i)y our species, the genus only differs from Melanerpes in pattern of color-
ation, and is reduced to a subgenus thereof by the A. 0. U. This is technically defensible ;
but for my purposes the two genera are most conveniently kept apart. (For A. 0. U. nomen-
clature substitute Melanerpes for Centurus for three following species.)
Analysis oj Species.
Belly reddening ; no yellow about head , (f whole crown red ; 9 nape red. Eastern US carnlinus
Belly yellowing; (f crownepot red ; $ no red on head.
Front and nape yellow ; rump entirely white ; tail almost entirely black. Texas aiirijinns
No yellow on head ; rump and tail much barred with black and white . ttropi/ijialis
C. earoli'iiiis. (Of Carolina. Fig. 407.) Hkd-hkllikd Woodpixkkr. Zfhk.\-hii:i).
Whole crown, nasal plumules, and nape scarlet in ^J; nape scarlet in 9> the crown b«'ing
ashy-gray- Sides of head, ami under parts, grayish-white, usually with a yellow shade, red-
denuKj I iw the belly; tail black, one or two outer feathers white-barred; mner web uf central
feathers whiter with i)lack spots, outer web of the same black with a white space next the shaft
for most of its length ; white predominating on rump. Bill and feet dusUy |)ltiinbeous. Iris
red. Larue; l.iiirth nearer 10.00 than 9.00; extent 1«?. 50-17. .")(); wing .5.00-5.50; tail .3..5()-
4.(K); bdl over 1.00; 9 smaller. Varies much in size; southi-rn specimens smaller than
iiortliern. Youn>; of each sex reseml)le the ailnlts suffieiently to be unmistakable, though the
markings are not well defined; red of head indistinct; belly rather biiffy than reddish. East-
ern IT. S., somewhat southerly, rarely N. to Massachusetts and Ontario, but reijularly reachint;
some portions of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and S. Dakota: W. to Iowa.
Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory, some parts of Texas, and ba.se of Hocky Mts.; southerly
3»
594
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICI.
resident, less so northerly, where migratory for the most part, though occasionally seen in
winter throughout its regular range; breeds throughout, from late April to early June ; nest
high or low, in dead wood, preferably of deciduous trees, sometimes conifers; eggs 3-6, usu-
ally 4 or 5, 1.00 X 0.72, ranging in length from 0.90 to 1.05, and in breadth from O.Gfi
to 0.70.
C. au'rifrons. (Lat. aurum, gold ; frons, forehead.) Yellow-fronted Woodpecker.
Somewhat similar to the last: heWy yelloicish, not reddish; rod of head in ^ confined to a
crown-patch, in 9 wanting. Forehead
and nasal plumes golden-yellow ; nape
with a golden, orange, or reddish band
(in both sexes, besides the scarlet crown-
patch of J). Ladder-rungs of back nar-
row, numerous, and distinct. Head and
under parts clear ashy-gray, very different
from the smoky-gray of uropygiaUs ; belly
yellowish ; flanks and crissum whitish,
varied with black. Upper tail-coverts
white, not barred. Middle tail-feathers
entirely black ; outermost not entirely
barred ; next black or only touched with
white. Bill and feet bluish-black. Iris
red. Length 9..50-10.50 ; extent 16.50-
17.50; wing 5.00-5.50 ; tail 3.25-3.75;
bill 1.30. 9 differs as said. Young $ :
Distinctively like adult; nearly all the
crown bronzy-red; nasal plumes not yel-
low, nape dull yellowish; a few thin
streaks of dusky on breast. Texas and
southward ; resident and very abundant
in suitable localities on the Lower Rio
Grande. Habits not peculiar. Nest often
in telegraph-poles. Eggs 4-7. usually 5 or 6, 1.00 X 0.75, laid in April and May.
C. uropygia'lis. (Gr. ovpoTrvyiov, ovropugion, Lat. xiropygium, the rump ; banded in this
species, not white as in aurifrons.) Gila Woodpecker. Saguaro Woodpecker. Head
all around and entire under parts fulvous-gray ; front and nape not notably different ; middle
of belly yellowish ; flanks and crissum whitish with black bars and cordate spots ; middle of
crown crimson m ^. Back, rump, up})er tail-coverts, wing-coverts, and inner quills closely
and regularly banded with black and white, latter not pure on dorsal region. Primaries black-
ish, not regularly barred or spotted like inner quills, but slightly white-tipped and edged, and
with large white blotches at base, of irregular shapes and tending to resolve into sets of
smaller spots. Middle pair of tail-feathers black, with long white shaft-space on outei web,
on inner web white with black bars and spots ; intermediate tail-feathers black ; outermost
regularly barred with black and white; next to outermost thus barred at end only. Bill
blackish ; feet plumbeous. Size of the others, or rather less. 9 without red on head. A
peculiar species, abounding in tlie valley of the Gila and Lower Colorado, and southward,
where it nests usually in the giant cactuses or saguaros (Cereiis giganteus). The range of
these strange arborescent plants, so singularly suggestive of colossal candelabras, seems
closely coincident with that of the bird which makes its home in them. It extends up the
Colorado to Fort Mojave at least, doubtless reaching S. Nevada, and probably touching
the S. W. corner of Utah ; up the Gila to S. W. New Mexico ; is common also in some parts
Fig. 407. — Red-bellied Woodpecker, reduced
del. Nichols sc. )
(Sheppard
PICID.E—PICIN.E : WOODPECKERS.
595
of Lowor California, and extends in W. Mexico to Aguas Calieutes and Jalisco. Eggs 3-5,
0.97 X 0.70 on an average, Mith the usual range of variation, thus indistinguishable from
those of several other species ; laid April and May-
3IELANEK'PES. (Gr. /x«'Xay, melas, black ; (pnrjs, herpes, a creeper.) Tricolor Wood-
peckers. Bill about as long as head, depressed at base, coni|)ressed beyond, cuhncn and
gonys ridged but curved throughout, sides of upper mandible distinctly ridged but a little way,
end of bill pointed with little bevelling; nasal tufts small, not concealing nostrils. Outer
posterior and anterior toes of equal lengths. Wings pointed by 3d, 4th, and 5th quills; 2d
shorter than (ith; 1st spurious. Plumage lustrous and "broad" in coloration, with bhick,
white, and red in masses, little or not spotty or streaky. Sexes alike and young different, or
sexes unlike and young similar. Our two species are very different, requiring no analysis of
their characters.
31. erythroce'phalus. (Gr. ipvOpos, cruthros, red ; KecfyaXrj, kephale, head. Fig. 408.) Red-
iiE.\i>i:i) Woodpecker. Tricolor. Adult ^ 9 : Beautifully tricolor with " the red, white,
and blue.'' Back, wings, and tail glossy blue-black ; seconda-
ries, upper tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, under parts from
breast, and ends of some outer tail-feathers, white. Whole
head, neck, and fore breast crimson, usually black-bordered
where adjoining the white. The white of wings and rump is
pure; that of belly usually tinged with ochraceous or reddish;
the white quills have black shafts. The red feathers are stiff'-
ish and simiewhat bristly in their colored portions. The gloss
is sometimes green instead of blue. Bill and feet dusky horn-
color. Iris brown. Length 8..)0-9..50; extent 16.00-18.00;
wing 5.00-5.50; tail 3.50; bill 1.00-1.12; wh(de foot l.()7.
Young J 9 '■ Ked {)arts of adult, gray, streaked with dusky ;
the red appears m irregular patches. Feathers of back and
wing-coverts skirted with light gray, and mixed with concealed
whitish, in bars. Primaries and tail-feathers tipped and edged
with white. White of secondaries broken with black bars or
spots. At a very early age, wh<de under parts streaked with
dusky much like the head, but these parts whiten before the
head reddens. Eastern U. S. and British Provinces, irregularly
rare or common northerly, abounding in most U. S. k)calities pio. 408. — Red-headed Wood-
except New England ; common N. to 49° along Red River of the pecker, reduced. (Si.eppard del.
,.,,,,'.,,., . TT 1 . ■ , Nichols sc. )
iSorth; W. to Kocky Mts., sometimes to Utali, Arizona, and
California; migratory in most sections, yet also resident to some extent throughout its range,
being seen in the dejtth of winter even along our northern border — it is a bundle ot contradic-
tions 111 this and most other respects. A very familiar bird, in orchards and gardens as well as lu
woods, conspicuous as a gay tricolor banner, and a great genius, no less brilliant and versatile
III character than in plumage — very accomplished, of endless resources, with tricks and man-
ners enough to liil tlie rest of this volume with good reading matter! Feeds much ou acorus,
nuts, iierries, an<l various fruits as well as upon insects ; sometimes lays up a store, like tlio
Caiifornian Woodpecker, and to some extent is cannilialistic. Nest anywhere in wood, pref-
erably th(; blasted toj) of a tree, tiug to a depth of a few inches or two feet, with a round hole
too small to admit the hand Fggs 4-8, usually 5 or <!. averaging 1.00 X 0.75, Itut vt-ry
variaide, glossy and roundish as usual in the family, in most of its range laid late in May and
< arly in June. Twtj luoods southerly.
M. fonnlci'vorus. (Lat. /o/»/((vf, an ant; roro, I devour. Fii;. 409.) Ant-k.vtino Wood-
I'l.iKKR. Arizona Acor.n Woodpecker. Adult ^ 9 • Glossy blue-black ; rumj), bases
696
S YSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — PICI.
of all qnills, edge of wing, and under parts from breast, white ; sides M'ith sparse black
streaks; forehead squarely white, continuous with a stripe down in front of eyes and thence
broadly encircling throat, there becoming yellowish ; this cuts off completely the black around
base of bill and on chin; crown in $ crimson from the white front, in 9 separated from
the white by a black interval ; frequently a few red leathers in the black breast-patch, which
is not sharply defined behind, but changes by streaks into the white of belly (in this respect
approaching the S. Mexican form called striaUpectus, in which the black area is entirely
broken up into streaks). Bill black ; eyes white, often rosy, creamy, yellowish, milky, bluish,
or brown. Young not particularly different, but have the head-markings less defined, the red
bronzy, and at an early age over the whole crown of both sexes ; black parts less pure; black
streaks of sides blurred. In 9 , the succession of white, black, and red on crown is very sharp
and square ; the white frontlet and black coronal areas, taken together, are broader lengthwise
than the red occipital bar. In some
specimens of either sex, the secondaries
are edged and tipped with white. The
gloss is sometimes rather green than
blue. Length (average of J" 9 ) 9.50;
extent 18.00 ; wing about 5.50 ; tail
3.75. My measurements of many Ari-
zona specimens in the flesh show no
adult under 8.80 long X 17. 00 in ex-
tent, ranging thence up to ^ 9.90 X
18.70, with no ccmstant difference be-
tween the sexes; the bill ranges from
0.87 to 1.12, averaging 1.00 for both
sexes and all ages. Southwestern U. S.,
from W. Texas through New Mexico
and Arizona, to contiguous parts of California E. of the Sierras Nevadas, and S. into Mexico,
common resident. This is not particularly a bird of oak woods ; I found it abundant in the
pineries about Fort Whipple, where it breeds. Eggs about 1.00 X 0.75. M. formicivorus of
the Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 197, reverted to by the A. 0. U. in Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 120, No.
407. M. formicivorus bairdt of the Key, 2d-4th eds., 1884-90, p. 489, and of A. 0. U. Lists,
1886-95, No. 407, in part (includes this form and the next). 31. f. nculeatus Mearns, Auk,
July, 1890, p. 249 ; see Auk, Jan. 1891, p. 88, and Ridgw. Man. 2d ed. 1896, p. 597. This
means that all the U. S. birds combined were wrongly separated from the typical Mexican
bird; whereas the distinction is to be made between the latter and the California Coast bird, as
follows :
M. f. bairdi. (To S. F. Baird.) Baird's Woodpecker. Californian Acorn Wood-
pecker. Like the last, throat more decidedly yellowish ; black breastplate more solid for a
considerable area; averaging slightly larger, the bill especially longer and stouter. Length av-
eraging over 9.50 and extent over 18.00; wing nearly 6.00; tail 4.00; bill 1.12-1.40. Pacific
Coast region, abundant in California and N. to 44° in Oregon, mostly confined to areas W. of
Sierras Nevadas and Cascade Range, but occasionally E. of latter in Oregon ; N. Lower Cal.
Particularly a bird of the oak belt ; acorns are its principal food, and it is noted for the habit of
sticking them in little holes that it digs for the purpose, till whole branches are often studded
m this curious manner. It nests preferably in oaks but also in other trees ; eggs 4, 5 or more,
April-June, averaging L 10 X 0.90, and thus rather larger than those oi formicivorus proper, but
indistinguishable. The general manners and bearing of all the forms of this species are most
like those of our common Red-headed Woodpecker. (Synonymy as above indicated ; also M.
f. melanopogon Temm., of Hargitt.)
Fig. 409. — Californian Woodpecker, nat. size.
E. C. (Bill at a minimum.)
(Ad. nat. del.
PICIDJE. — PICINJE : WOODPECKERS.
597
M. f. angus'tifrons. (Lat. angustus, unvrow, straitened ; frons, forehead.) Narrow-
FKONTED Woodpecker. The white t'nmlal har narrower; bill somewhat diflVreutly shaped.
In the 9 the white froutal bar is narrower than the succeeding black coronal bar, and b(.th
together are narrower tlian the red occipital bar; iu botli sexes the frontal bar is hardly over
0.:25 in length. Tiiroat decidedly yellowish, and this color also tingeing the forehead iu some
cases; pectoral black plate more broken up in streaks than in bairdi, abont as m formicivorus
proper. Rather small, Wke formicivorus ; wing averaging under 5.50, but bill relatively large,
about 1.20. Cai)e region of Lower California.
ASYNDESMUS. (Gr. a privative, avv, sun, together; dtafnk, 'A.sv»o.s-, a bond; alluding to
loosened texture of feathers of certain parts.) Hulstlk-hklliku Woodpeckek.s. liill
almost colaptine in general aspect,
but with short distinct lateral ridges
as in Melanerpes ; as long as head,
rather longer tlian tarsus, not
Ijj'oader tlian high at base, com-
pressed and somewhat (!urved toward
end; pointed with scarcely any lat-
eral bevelling, culmen curv(;d and
scarcely ridged ; gonys straight.
Wings of excessive length, folding
nearly to end of tail, and peculiar in
proportion of primaries: 4th quill
longest, .'id and 5th al)out equal and
shorter than 2d. Inner anterinr
claw reaciiing little beyond base of
outer anterior. Feathers of under
parts and of a nuchal collar with the fibrillie of their colored portions enlarged in calibre,
bristly, of silicious hardness, loosened and disconnected, being devoid of barbicels and hook-
lets. Dorsal plumage compact, of intense
metallic lustre. Feathers of face soft and
velvety. Sexes alike, young different. I
named this genus in 1866; it is a good
one, as genera go now ; I coiitinue to
uphold it, as in former eds. of tiie Key,
1872-90; so does the latest monographer
of the Picidce (Hargitt, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. xviii, 1890, p. 187), who disallows
even subgeneric difference of Cc)tti(n(s
from Melunerpes. (Subgenus of Mela-
)H'rj)es, A. O. V. Lists.)
A. torqiia'tiis. (Lat. torquatits, collared.
I'igs. 410, 411.) Lkwis' Wdodpkckf.r.
COLLARICI) WiKil«PI.( Kf.i;. .Vdult (^ 9 '•
l'pi>er parts, including wings and tail,
Hanks and cri.ssum, green-black with in-
ii'iise bronzy lustre, especially on back —
tliis iridescence almost like tiiat of Qiiisca-
liis leueus. Face dark criinstm, in u patch
of velvety feathers around bill and eyes.
A narrow distinct collar around back of neck, and breast, hoary bluish-gray, gradually briglit-
FiG. 410. — Lewis' Woodpecker, nat. .size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.)
Lewis' Wooilpecker, reduced. (Slicppard del.
598
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PI CARLE — PICI.
ening behind ou imder parts to iutense rose-red or lake, delicately pencilled in hair lines with
hoary-gray. No white on wings or tail, their under surfaces simply black. Bill blackish ; feet
greenish-plumbeous. Iris brown. Length J U.OO- 11.00 ; extent 20.00-22.00 ; wing 6.50-7.00 ;
tail 4.50; bill 1.20. Young: Little lustre at first, but this soon appears, before any red. Little
or no trace of hoary collar or crimson mask ; face sooty-black ; throat and breast mixed fuscous
and gray, changing ou belly to sooty-black, tinged or slashed here and there with red. The
hoary and lake-red are established with the feathers that are of the bristly character above de-
scribed. A remarkable bird, inhabiting wooded mountainous parts of the West, especially the
pine- belt. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U. S. and adjoining British Provinces of Alberta and
British Columbia ; E. regularly to the Black Hills of S. Dakota, casually to Kansas ; it was
discovered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition near Helena, Mont., Sat., July 20, 1805. It is
found with Clark's Crow and Steller's Jay ; is wild and wary like the Pileated Woodpecker,
but a much less noisy and more sedate bird than most of the tribe ; keeps high up in trees,
and in fiying looks more like a Crow than a Woodpecker. Its aerial excursions are very
conspicuous, especially when it is foraging for insects like a Flycatcher ; in ordinary flight it
winnows the air steadily, in direct courses, unlike the cycloidal curves made by most W(Kjd-
peckers, which almost close the wings as they loop along. It is resident, or only migratory from
extremes of its range in latitude or altitude ; I have observed it in summer from Montana to
Arizona. Nidification is not peculiar; coniferous trees are commonly selected for excavation,
which may be made to a depth of two feet or more, with a hole that hardly admits the hand.
The eggs are laid in May and June, 5-9 in number, usually 6-8, averaging about 1.05 X 0.80,
but ranging iu length from 0.95 to 1.15, and in breadth from 0.65 to 0.85. M. torquatiis,
A. 0. U. Lists.
COLAP'TES. (Gr. KoXanTT^s, kokipfes, a chisel, hammer.) Gilded Woodpeckers. Flick-
ers. Bill about as long as head, slender and weak for this family, without any lateral ridges
or bevelling, pointed with-
out truncation ; culinen and
commissure curved, gonys
nearly straight, only about
half as long as culmen ;
nostrils not concealed by
the slight nasal tufts ; cul-
men and gonys, hctwever,
both ridged. Outer poste-
rior toe shorter than outer
anterior ; inner posterior toe
very short. Wings long,
pointed by 3d to 6th quills ;
2d shorter than 7tli ; 1st
about I the 2d. Tail length-
ened. Sexesgenerally alike,
but distinguishable by posi-
(Ad. nat. del. EC) .. , i . , ,
tive marks about head.
Plumage highly variegated and very showy. Under parts with numerous circular black spots
on a pale ground. A large black pectoral crescent. Rump snowy-white. Back, wing-coverts,
and innermost quills brown with an olive or lilac shade, and thickly barred with black ; quills
and tail black, excepting as l)elow stated; red or black cheek patches in ^, wanting in ?.
About 12.00 long; wing about G.OO; tail 4.50. A beautiful genus, of several American spe-
cies, besides those of North America.
Fig 412.
Flicker, nat size.
PICID.E — PICIN.E : WOODPECKERS.
599
Analysis of Species and Subspecies or Variations.
tj Black moustaches and red nape. Rump snowy-white.
Wings and tail golden- yellow underneath ; belly yellowish ; back olivaceous-brown ; throat lilac-brown ; cap ashy.
Eastern N A auratus and luleiis
[Characters mixed in every degree between the foregoing and next following. Upper Missouri and Rocky Mt.
regions ayresi]
(f Red moustaches and no red on nape. Rump snowy or slightly pinkish white
Wings and tail orange-red underneath ; belly not yellowish ; back brownish ; throat ashy ; cap lilac-brown. Wing
6.50; bill 1.50.
Back lighter brown. The stock form of Western N. A mezicanus
Back darker brown. The dark form of the N. W. coast region m. saturatior
Wings and tail bricky-red underneath ; rump soiled whitish ; belly not yellowi.sh ; back brownish ; throat ashy ; cap
cinnamon-brown. Wing G.OO ; bill l.(K). Guadalupe Island riifipileits
Wings and tail golden-yellow ; belly hardly yellowish ; back umber-brown ; throat ashy , cap cinnamon-brown. Wing
hardly GOO ; bill \M).
Back ligliter bro^v^l. The stock form of Southwestern N. A chrysoiiles
Back darker brown. The dark form of some parts of Lower California c. bruniiescens
Obs. It will be noted how curiously these species are distinguished mainly by different combinations of common
characters.
C. aura'tus. (L;it. auratus, gulden, gildccl. Figs. 412. 41:}.) Goldex-wixgei) Wood-
pecker. Yellow-shafted Woodpecker. Pigeon Woodpecker. Flicker. Yucker.
Yarup. Wake-up. Clape. High-hole. High-holder. Yellow-hammer. Back
and exposed surfaces of wing-coverts and secondaries olive-
brown witli numerous black bars. Kunip snowy-white;
upper tail-coverts white, mixed with black. Primaries
blackish, with golden shafts, and glossed with golden un-
derneath, at their bases paler and more tawny yellow.
Tail-feathers above black, their shafts and under surfaces S- " ■>,
golden, blackened at ends, the outermost with a few touches
of yellow or white. Top nf liead, with back and sides of ^^•^
neck, ash, with a scarlet nuchal band (in both sexes).
Sides of head, whole chin, throat, and fore-breast lilac- «P^w*'f *- *
brown, with broad black cheek-patches, these " mous- mm^k^'^'k^.
taches wanting usually in the 9 » exceptionally showing M|^&rfVM -v '.^ U.
red touches in the $. A broad black pectoral semilune. ^HB^Br-LV irfSf^'i'^
r)ther under parts shading fnun a lighter shade of color of ^^^^^|F^ Uj-' ^4iwC^' "" > \\
breast into creamy- yellow, nuirked with numerous circular l^^BlElfi '^ ridtmM ' ■■ ■^•^ ^^ .',
black spots. Hill and feet dark plumbeous. Iris brown.
Length 12.00-13.00; extent 1800-21.00, usually about ^Pnir^JPHPfS^": ' ' /
20.00; wiuii 5.75-6.2.5; tail 4. .50; bill 1.25-1.50; whole BiH/f.*!*'
fiot 2. .■{:{. Young similar: more red on head. Eastern l^Bw/ ^i* v, . i
X. .\m.; \. to Labrador, Hudson's Bay, etc., and farther ^^HmP^ I'V^ .' V/
X. \V. to the Arctic circle; casual in California; a(^ci- ^Btj^ ■^''\' (
dental in Greenland and Europe; in the West regularly to
the Great Plains. l)Ut in the easternmost foothills of the
Rocky Mts. meeting and mixing with C. mc.ricanus (see
ni-xt article). The species keeps pretty pure to the Upper
.Missouri, wiiere adulterated with mexicanns ; pure to the
Pacific in Alaska. The first deviation is appearance of red ——■»
feathers in black maxillary patches ; these increase till they wBRtf; aJ(Mk
prevail, finally to exclusion of black, resulting in the wholly fio. 413. — Golden- wing««d Woodpecker,
re.l patch of meximnus. With this change occurs diminu'- » ""'• """• <'''°'" """'""■'
tion ami final extinction of tlic scarlet nuchal crescent ; when, coincidently, wp find the cliar-
acteri.stic golden-yellow on wings and tail passing through an intermeiliule tiraugo into the red
600 S YS TEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARIAi — PI CI.
of C- mexicanics, a change accompanied with another affecting the peculiar lilac-hrown of
throat and olive-brown of back, which become respectively ashen and purplish-gray. One
of the most abundant and best-known species of the family, in any woodland, sometimes for-
aging for food in open country far from trees : a great ant-eater and berry-|)icker. A lively
bird, of sunny temperament, like its feathers, faithful and devoted, assiduous and successful in
domestic affairs, and a good housekeeper. The bill of the Flicker is not so strong a "hammer
and tongs " as that of most Woodpeckers, and the bird excavates sound wood for a nest less
extensively than those of other genera ; it generally takes advantage of natural holes in de-
cayed trees, stumps, posts, etc., and sometimes selects very odd nooks — it is known to have
burrowed even a haystack, and has nested within buildings. Eggs 5-9, usually 6 or 7 ; under
exceptional circumstances 18 to 23 have been taken from one hole; a case is recorded of 19
young birds in good order in one nest; and another in which systematic robbery induced one
bird to lay 71 eggs in 73 days! The eggs average 1.10 X 0.85, with extremes of 1.20 X
0.90 and 0.97 X 0.82 in a series of 196 measurements (Bendire).
C. a. lu'teus. (Lat. lutetis, yelhtwish, luteous.) Northern Flicker. This name desig-
nates northerly specimens of the common Flicker, with those who wish to restrict the name
auratus to S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast specimens. Eange given as from N. Carolina north-
ward, west to the Rocky Mts., and occasional on the Pacific slope from California northward.
Bangs, Auk, Apr. 1898, p. 177: A 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. HI, No. 412a.
[C. ayresi (AUD.). C. hybridus (Bd.). C. aurato-inexicaiius (Sund.). Ayres' Wood-
pecker. Hybrid Flicker. Yellow-and-red-shaftkd Flicker. A species, subspe-
cies, varietv, race, strain, hybrid, or transitional form, in wliich the respective characters of
C. auratus and C mexicanus are blended in every conceivable degree in different specimens.
Moustaches red or black, or partly both, on one or both sides of the body, and present or ab-
sent in the 9 ; red moustaches present with yellow wings and tail, or black ones with red
wings and tail. Red nuchal crescent present or absent ; present in connection with red wings
and tail. Either of the foregoing features concurrent with ashy or with lilac brown throat;
either color of throat coincident with yellow or with red wings and tail. Wings and tail gilded
on some of the feathers, rubricated (m others on one or both sides. Such Flickers prevail
widely in the Rocky Mountain region, in some parts to the exclusion of birds showing the
proper characters of either species. The case is unique in ornithology, and has proved refrac-
tory to the machinery of zoological classification — tot homines, tot sententice. It was first
brought to light in 1843, when Audubon found tlie birds he subsequently named C ayresii at
old Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone river, on l\\e Miss(juri, at the present border
between North Dakota and ]Montana; I liave read in liis manuscript, penned on the spot, his
naive expressions of amazement at a phenomenon which has served to pique curiosity and
complete perplexity from that day to tliis. But to me it seems a simple case of hybridization
on a grand scale, with reproduction of fertile offspring sharing the characters of both parents,
and perpetuating their mixed kind, no doubt with repeated or continuous infusion of pure blood
from each side of the house. But so remarkable a result of interbreeding or intergradation should
not be ignored, as it is in the A. 0. U. List ; and I see no objection to giving it a name. No
one objects to the term Canis familiaris for the domestic dog, which is certainly a composite
product of various canine ancestry.]
C. mexica'nus. (Of Mexico.) Red-shafted Woodpecker. Mexican Flicker. Back,
rump, and upper surfaces of wings and tail as in C auratus, but a different shade of color, a
faintly reddish replacing the olivaceous tinge of the common brownish ground-color. Wings
and tail of the same pattern, but the auration replaced by rubefaction, the under surfaces being
thus orange-red or even vermilion, instead of golden-yellow. Top of head like the throat of
C. auratus, but more cinnamon than lilac-brown, especially on the forehead ; no occipital red
crescent in either sex. Throat and sides of head and neck clear ash, with scarlet maxillary
PICW.E — PIClXyE: WOODPECKERS. 601
patches in ^, the position of wliich may he indicated in the 9 by brown patches. A black
pectoral seniilune, as in others of this genus. Under parts very pale lilac- brown, fading to
whitish on tlie belly, marked with numerous round black spots. Bill blackish- slate ; feet dark
]ihimbeous. Iris brown. Size oi aitnttits, or ratlier larger; length sometimes up to 14.00 ;
wing up to 7.00; tail to 5.00; bill about 1..30. Western X. Am., mostly replacing C. auratus
from the Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, but mixed therewith over the extensive region in wliich
C. aijresi prevails; replaced by C. satiiratior on the N. W. coast; S. in Lower California to the
San Pedro Mts., whence yielding to C. chrysoides ; S. in Mexico to Tehuautepec lu habits
a perfect counterpart of the common Flicker, with all of its vagaries, and even more irregular
in residence or migration, as the character of the country inhabited is much more diverse.
Ranges in mountains up to 10,000 feet, and thence down to sea level, in all kinds of woods,
also sometimes far from any trees. It nests not only in holes in trees, as usual, but also in
odd nooks about buildings, and has been known to burrow under ground. Eggs April-June,
'i-H) or more, usually 6 or 8, indistinguishable from those of C. auratus, averaging a trifle
larger, about 1.12 X 0.85, running up to 1.25 and down to 1.00 in length. C mexicanus
Key, 1884-90; C. cafer A. 0. U. Lists. With every disposition to follow the dogma and ritual
of the A. 0. U., I cannot bring myself to call this bird C. cafer, for no better reason than be-
cause Picits cafer Gm. 1788 was mistaken for a bird of the Cape of Good Hope ! Say what
we please in our canons, there is something in a name after all, and "the letter of the law
killeth" when wrenched from its spirit, in defiance of science and common sense. Individually
I cannot incur the penalty of deliberately using for a North American bird a name only appli-
cable to one from South Africa. The fact that " Cafer" is a sort of Latin for Caffraria or Caf-
frariau makes its use in this connection as bad as "Hottentot Woodpecker" or " Zulu Flicker"
would bo; and how would such a combination sound in plain English?
C. 111. satura'tior. (Lat. comparative degree of satiiratus, saturated, sc. witli ccjlor; dark in
color.) Northwestern Red-siiafted Woodpecker. Northwestern Flicker. The
dark \)ha.sc of mexicanus. Back deeper brown, approaching burnt umber; belly of a deeper
color; throat dark ashy or plumbeous; cap dark. No difference in size as a whole, or in any
]iart. I'acific coast region from N. California to Sitka, Alaska. C. m. saturatwr Ridgw. Pr.
Jiiol. Soc. Washu. Apr. 1884, p. 90; C. cafer saturatior, A. 0. U. Lists, 1st ed. 188G, 2d ed.
1895, No. 413 rt,- RiuGW. Man. 1887, p. 2!)G. Not admitted in previous eds. of the Key, nt>t
recognized in Brit. Mus. Cat. 1890.
C. rufipil'eus. (Lat. rufus, rufous; pileum ox pileus, top of the head, crown, ca]).) Insilar
Reo-shaited Woodpecker. Guadalupe Flicker. Resembling C. mexicanus; smaller,
wings and tail shorter, bill longer. Terminal black of the tail longer, occujjying 2.50 instead
of about 2 inches. Red parts of a dull bricky tone, like red-lead. Rump of a pale pinkish, or
.^liglitly soiled tint instead of pure white ; crown cinnamon-brown, becoming deeper rufous ante-
riorly. Wing 5.90-G.25; tail 4.75-5.25; bill 1.(50-1.85, slender, with decided curvature. An
insular form, approaching C chrysoides m some respects, especially the color of tlie crown, but
distinctively red-shafted, not yellow-shafted. Guadalupe Island, Lower California, resident:
ni'st in March and April; eggs about G, 1.14 X 0.87, indistinguishable from those of otlier
species. C. mexicanus rufipileus Ridgw. Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. ii. No. 2, 187G, p. 191 ;
('dues. Key, .'id and 4th eds. 1887-90, p. 881 ; C. rufipileus Ridgw. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, July,
1887, p. GO; A. 0. U. Lists, 1st ed. 188G, 2d ed. 1895, No. 415; Ridgw. Man. 1887. p. 2!H5.
C. chrysoi'des. (Gr. ;^puo-dr, chrusos, gold; fi8o{, eidos, like.) Gilded Woodi'Eikku.
Gila Flickkr. Body, wings, and tail substantially ;is m C. auratus ; head as in C- mexi-
canus : (J with .scarlet moustaches; no red mi nape m either sex; crown cinnamon-brown;
chin, throat, and fore-breast ash ; sides tinged with creamy-brown, belly with yellowisli.
There an", however, some specialties. Golden of wings and tail less vivid than in C. auratus,
that on the tail incliniiii,' to wa\y-yellow ; tail-feathers black for about half tlicir length, their
602 SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARI.E — COCCYGES.
shafts entirely black on top, though yellow in part underneath. General tone of under parts
pale grayish-white, without the decided tints of either of the other species, the round black
spots large and crowded. Top of head purer and more cinnamon-brown than in C. rnexicanus;
more nearly as in C. rufipileus. Small; length ll. 00-12. 00; vA'ing 5.50-6.00; tail about 4.00;
bill 1.50 or less. Gradation between this form and C. rnexicanus has not yet been observed,
but very likely does occur. Valley of the Gila and Lower Colorado rivers, Arizona, and con-
tiguous portions of California, probably also reaching southern Nevada and the S. W. corner
of Utah ; Sonora ; Lower California S. of Lat. 30°. Like the Gila species of Centurus, the
Gila Flicker ranges in the region of the giant cactus, in which it nests in April, May, and June,
laying 5 or fewer eggs, indistinguishable from those of other Flickers.
C. c. brunnes'cens. (Lat. brownish, growing brown.) Veneered Woodpecker. Quite
like C. chrysoides ; upper parts darker ; size slightly smaller. Terminal black of tail one-third
its length, its yellow dull waxy contrasting with chrome yellow of the wings underneath ; back
bister-brown ; throat dark ash ; cap cintiamon-brown ; ground of lower parts grayish-white,
with numerous round and cordate black spots; upper tail-coverts white, with large round black
spots. San Fernando, Lower California. Anthony, Auk, Oct. 1895, p. 347; A. 0. U. Suppl.
List, Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 120, No. 414 a.
Suborder COCCYGES : Cuculiform Birds.
See p. 542 for analytical characters of the suborder, as now restricted to the two families
Cuculidce and Miisophagidce. Thus purged of its non-conformable elements, the group may
be defined with precision, and must not be mistaken for the heterogeneous Coccygomorphce or
Cuculiformes of various writers, and of former editions of the Key. The Coccyges in the strict
sense have lately been called Zygodactyli, a term expressive of a principal external character-
istic, as the Coccyges are yoke-toed by permanent reversion or versatility of the 4th toe, but
one which is not distinctive and therefore ineligible ; for the Woodpeckers and several other
families ot Piciform birds share this character. The fundamental feature of Coccyges is the
presence of the ambiens muscle, here only among Picarice ; the true Cuculiform birds are
therefore homalogonatous, all other Picarians being anomalogonatous. They are furthermore
the only ones with an accessory femorocaudal, as throughout the Miisopliagidee and in several
l)ut not all the subfamilies of CuculidcB. The flexor longus hallucis supplies the hallux; the
flexor digitorum perforans has three tendons for the other three digits. The palate is desmog-
nathous, without basipterygoids. The spinal pteryla forks in the scapular region. The two
families are readily distinguished by the combination, in MiisophagidcB, of the constant formula
AB X Y, tufted oil-gland, no cfeca, aftershafted plumage, versatile 4th digit, and 10 rectrices,
as contrasted with the inconstant formula A B X Y or A X Y, nude oil-gland, two caeca, no
aftershafts, permanently reversed 4th digit, and 10 or 8 rectrices, in CucuUdce. The former
family is exclusively Ethiopian ; the latter is cosmopolitan.
Family CUCULID^ : Cuckoos.
Homalogonatous Picarice zygodactylous hy reversion of the fourth toe. The only other
North American birds with toes yoked in the same combination are Picidte and Psittaci, whose
numerous specialties will prevent any misconception regarding CuculidcB. The latter are
desmognathous in palatal structure, and homalogonatous, having the ambiens and three or all
four of the other leg-muscles used for classificatory purposes ; in these important respects dif-
fering from all birds previously treated in this work. There are two carotids. The syringes
vary from tracheobronchial through pseudobronchial to bronchial, paired. The oil-gland is
nude, but cjeca are present, and the plumage is not aftershafted. The family is a large and
CUCULID.E: CUCKOOS.
603
important one. It comprehends quite a number of leading forms showing certain modifications
of the syrinx or syringes, of the pterylosis, of the hind claw, and even of the myological for-
mula. These correspond in
great measure with certain 'g^^^^s^- ^a^!*^ ^^^=7- ^. ^^ir-^
geographical areas of faunal
distribution, and are generally r~Tf^ ^^^^^ - ■*,/!?*..
held to constitute subfamilies.
But the subdivision of the
family is still in such an un-
satisfactory state, that I am
furtunate in being required to
treat critically of only the
North American forms, which
include representatives of
three indisputably distinct
subfamilies ; among them are
Cnculince, or typical Cuckoos _ -s J ,
allied to the European G. ^ - , ''^;^ ^ ^,
canorus (fig. 414), famous, -; **- ' ■^^^^^^^ jL
like our Cowbird, for their ^ ---^^P^^'-it/' ^^Sfc" -4-
parasitism. None of the (7(«- - ^__ ' il^^^k // .yi '-{"f-ir
culinre proper have an acces-
sory femorocaudal, their syrinx
is tracheobronchial, and the Fm. 4U.- European Cuckoo, C«^«/«.. c««.nu. (From Dixon.)
ventral pteryla gives off no lateral branches, though it is more or less split in two lateral halves
by a median space. The Oltl World genera Eudynamis and Phccnicophaes rej)resent a group
in which tlie muscle just named is present, the syrinx tracheobronchial, and the ventral pteryhi
branched on each side. The very large Old World genus Centropus represents yet another
group, whose characters are much the same as the last said, but they are terrestrial, with long
straight hind claws, being the so-called " Lark-heeled " or Spurred Cuckoos, or Coucals. In these
the syringes are pseudo-bronchial. The Neotropical genera Diplopterus and Dromococcyx have
peculiarly elongated upper tail-coverts; the Couince &rG a peculiar Madagascan type. Each one
of the groups thus indicated may possibly be regarded as a subfamily, as is certainly the case
with the groups represented by Geococcyx and Crotophaga respectively (see below). There
are altogether over 40 genera and some 150 good species of the family. Many of them, be-
sides the one instanced, lay eggs in other birds' nests. The American Cuckoos have been
declared free of suspicion of such domestic irregularities ; but, though i)retty well behaved,
their record is not quite clean : they do sometimes slip into the wrong nest. The curious infe-
licity seems to be connected in some way with the inability of the 9 to complete her clutch
of eggs with the rapidity and regularity usual among birds, and so incubate them iu one batch.
The nests of our species of Coccyzus commonly contain young by the time the last egg of the
lot is laid.
We have four very distinct genera, representing three subfamilies.
Analysis of Siib/nmilies and Genera.
Crotophaoin*;. Terrestrial. Tail of eight feathers.
Bill compressed, crested. PlumaRe lustrous black Crotophaga
NEO.MouPHiNiK. Terrestrial. Tail of 10 feathers. Feet ambulatorial, with long tarsi. Wings short, concavo-convex.
1-lill long, slender. Plumage highly variegated Geococn/x
Cuci'LiN*. Arl)i>reiil. Tail of 10 feathers. Feet insessorial, with short tarsi. Wings long, flat.
Cluiuagf plain. I'ropcrly Anicricaii (forcyzinw) I'i>rry:us
Plumage variegated. Properly Old World ('k<-m/u4
604
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARIjE — COCCYGES.
Subfamily CROTOPHACIN/E : Anis; Cuiras.
Syringes bronchial. Myological formula including an accessory fenioroeaudal. Ventral
pteryla forked on each side. Tail of eiriht ftiathers, graduated, longer than rounded wings.
Bill and externals of plumage differing in the two genera, Crotophaga and Guira, of which this
small American subfamily is composed.
CKOTO'PHAGA. (Gr. Kporwv, kroton, a bug; (pdyos, phagos, eating.) Anis. Bill about
as long as head, extremely compressed, cultrate with regularly convex or angulated culmen
rising into a thin vertical crest, its sides smooth, wrinkled, or sulcate; tip of upper mandible
decurved over end of lower; gonys straight. Wings rounded; 4th or .5th primary longest, 1st
quite short. Tail-feathers broad, widening to very obtuse ends. Tarsus longer than middle
toe, anteriorly broadly scutellate, the sides with large plates meeting in a ridge behind. Plu-
mage uniform (black), lustrous; feathers of head and neck length-
ened, lanceolate, distinct, with scale-like margins ; face naked.
Terrestrial. Nest in trees and buslies. According to the concur-
rent testimony of various independent observers, the cuculine irreg-
ularity of nesting is expressed
in a very curious manner, in
the case of C. ani at least ; sev-
eral birds forming a sort of
colony of Communists uniting
to build a large nest to be
used in common. The indefi-
nitely numerous eggs are greenish-blue, overlaid with a white
chalky substance, easily rubbed off when fresh.
C. a'ni. (The Brazilian name. Fig. 415.) Ani. Black
Witch. Tick-bird. Savanna Blackbikd. Bill smooth or
with a few transverse wrinkles ; culmen regularly curved. Adult
$ 9 '■ Black, with violet and steel-blue reflections, duller below ;
lanceolate feathers of head and neck with bronze borders. Iris
brown. Length 13.00-15.00 ; wing 6.00 ; tail 8.00 ; tarsus 1.50.
Young simply dull blackish. Eggs very variable in size and shape, about 1.35 X 1-00.
Tropical America ; West Indies ; Florida and Louisiana ; accidental near Philadelphia.
C. sulciros'tris. (Lat. sulcus, a groove ; rostris, pertaining to the beak.) Groove-billed
Ani. Jew-bird. Bill with 3 distinct grooves on upper mandible, parallel with the regularly
curved culmen. Adult ^ 9 '■ Black, with steel-blue and violet reflections, more olive-brown
on belly; scaly feathers of head and neck bronzy, of breast, back, and wings metallic-greenish.
Wings with 4th and 5th quills longest, 3d little shorter, 2d nearly an inch, 1st nearly 2 inches
from point of wing. Bill more than twice as high as broad at the base; 0.85 high, 0.37 broad,
1.20 long. Bill and feet black, scaling grayish in some places. Iris brown. Length 14.50 ;
Fig. 415. —Ani,
(From Brehm.)
CUCULID.E — NEOMORPHIN.E : GROUND CUCKOOS. 605
extent 17.00; wing 5.50-6.00 ; tail 7.50-8.00, graduated 2 inches; tarsus, or middle toe and
claw, 1.50. Young dull sooty blackish. Tropical America; N. along the U. S. border,
locally or irregularly ; common in Texas in the lower Rio Grande valley, where it breeds.
Eggs said to be usually five, but indefinitely numerous and no peculiarity of nesting noted
in comparison with C. ani, both species being irregular ; nest of twigs, lined with fibrous
roots, leaves, etc., in a tree or bush; eggs averaging 1.25 X 0.95.
Subfamily NEOMORPHiN/E : Ground Cuckoos.
Syringes pseudobronchial ; myological formula and pterylosis as in Crotophagince. Tail
of ten feathers, graduated, longer than the short, rounded, concavo-convex wings, which hug
the body snugly when folded, and whose long inner secondaries reach nearly or quite to the
ends of the primaries ; upper tail-coverts also lengthened. Bill
not peculiar. Feet large and strong, in adaptation to terrestrial
habits, but hind claw not peculiar (as it is in Centropodince) .
This subfamily has a certain gallinaceous suggestiveness, the
birds being more or less pheasant-like in external appearance.
With the possible or probable exception of the genus Carpo-
coccyx of Borneo and Sumatra, brought to this connection by
some writers, the Neomorpliina: are exclusively American, and
especially Neotropical. Three genera belonging to this group
are Neomorphus, Geococajx, and Morococojx ; from these the
genera Diplopterus and Dromococcyx appear to difi"er little, in
externals at any rate ; though they have been put in a separate Fio. 4ir,. — Head of Geococcyx.
subfiimily DiplopterintB, characterized by the greater elongation ^ ^^^ assm.)
of the ui)per tail-coverts, which reach to the end of the tail in Dromococcyx. Should the two
last- named genera prove to agree with the NeomorphincB proper in structural characters, and
should Carpococcyx be referable elsewhere, the present would become a compact and well-
characterized subfamily of American Ground Cuckoos. (Subfamily Saurotherince of former
editions of the Key ; but the uncertainty regarding the systematic position of the West Indian
Saurothera makes it ineligible as the name-giving genus. In the most important respects
Saurothera is said by Beddard to agree with Piaya, Coccyziis, etc., and tlius to belong to the
CuculincB. On external indications alone it is arranged by Shelley with Piaya, Hyetornis,
etc., under a subfamily Pha^nicophaince. As the name-giving genus of the present sul)family
Neomorphus Gloger, 1827, antedates Geococcyx Wagler, 1831. See Coues, Auk, Jan.
1897, p. 90; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 110.)
GEOCOCCYX. (Gr. yrj, gc, the ground; kokkv^, kokkux, a cuckoo. Ground Cuckoos.
Head crested; most feathers of head and neck bristle-tipped; eyelids lashed; whole plumage
coarse. A bare colored space around eye. Bill about as long as head, nearly straiglit, but
witli culuicn and cdimnissiire mucli decurved toward end, gonys if anything a little concave,
and rictus ample. Wings very slu>rt and concavo-convex, with long inner secondaries folding
entirely over jirimaries; 4th, 5th, and succeeding primaries longer than 8d, 2d, and 1st, which
rapidly shorten. Tail of 10 long tapering feathers, mucli graduated, making more than J total
length of the bird. Feet large and strong, in adaptation to terrestrial life; tarsus longer th.an
toes, scutellate before and behind. Plumage lustrous and variegated above. Sexes substan-
tially alike. Eminently terrestrial ; nest in bushes ; eggs numerous. Two specie's : G. ajjinis
of Mexico, and the following.
G. califuriiia'iius. (r)f California. Figs. 4 HI, 417.) Ground Cuckoo. Chaparral
Cock. Ivoad Kinnkr. Snake Killer. Lizard 1*.ii;d. Churca. Palsano. Cokre-
CAMiNn. Most feathers of head and necl< Itristle-tipiied ; a nalci'd area around- eye; crown
606
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARI^ — COCCYGES.
crested; plumage coarse. Adult $ 9: Above, lustrous bronzy or coppery-greeu, cbanging to
dark steel-blue on head and neck, to purplish-violet on middle tail-feathers; everywhere except
on rump conspicuously streaked with white, mixed with tawny on head, neck, and wings —
this white and buflf streaking consisting of edges of the feathers, which are frayed out, fringe-
like, producing a peculiar effect. Breast, throat, and sides of neck mixed tawny-white and
black; other under parts dull soiled whitish. Primaries white-tipped and with oblique white
space on outer webs. Lateral tail-feathers steel-blue with green and violet reflections, their
outer webs fringed part way with white, their tips broadly white. Lower back and rump,
where covered by the folded wings, dark-colored and unmarked ; under surface of wings sooty-
brown. Bare space around eye blue, bluish-white, and orange: iris red. Bill dark horn-
color ; feet the same, the larger scales yellowish. Young birds are very similar, the iridescence
developing with the first growth of the feathers, as in a Magpie; more white and less tawny
Fig. 417. — Ground Cuckoo, J nat. size.
(From Brehm.)
in the streaking. Nearly two feet long ; tail a foot or less ; wing Q-7 inches ; tarsus 2.00 ; bill
1.66-2.00. Western U. S., southerly ; N. in the Pacific coast region through California to Ore-
gon, and in the interior to Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and southwestern Kansas; E. to portions
of Oklahoma and western and southeastern Texas ; S. through much of Mexico, including
Lower California ; a common resident in most of its U. S. range. A bird of remarkable aspect,
noted for its swiftness of foot ; aided by its wings held as outriggers, it taxes the horse in a race ;
feeds on fruits, reptiles, insects, land mollusks, sometimes small mammals and birds. Nest in
bushes or low trees ; a rather slight structure of twigs, with or without lining of various finer
materials, as if the birds were just learning how to build, with a diameter of about a foot, and
a depth of half as much ; occasionally, an old nest of some other bird is appropriated. Eggs
indefinitely few or many, 2 to 12 in a nest, perhaps not all laid by the same 9 > ordinarily 4 to
6, 7, 8, or 9, ovate or elliptical, white in ground color with an overlying chalky film whicli
may take a slight yellowish tint, ranging in length from 1.45 to 1.75, averaging L55 X 1-20.
They are laid at considerable intervals : incubation begins as soon as a few are deposited, and
cue ULID.^ — C UC ULIN/E : TREE C UCKOOS.
607
is believed to last 18 days for each egg. The development of the chicks is rapid; perfectly
fresh eggs and newly-hatched young may be found together; and by the time the last young
are breaking the shell the others may be graded up to half the size of the adult. The birds
are sometimes domesticated, making amusing pets. They are singular birds — cuckoos com-
pounded of a chicken and a Magpie !
Subfamily CUCULIN>C: Tree Cuckoos.
Fig. 418. — American TreeCuckoo (Coccysuiam^r/Vu/iuii
reduced. (From Teuney, after Wilson.)
Syrinx tracheobronchial. Myological formula A X Y (no accessory femorocaudal). Ven-
tral pteryla unbranclied on either side, but more or less extensively divided by a median space
into right and left halves, this division ex-
tending throughout in sundry American
genera, but not on the neck in Old World
genera like CiicuIhs. Tail invariably of 10
soft feathers, usually rounded or graduated,
rarely square or forked, and more or less
nearly equalling the wings in length. Wings
long and flat, not hugging the body closely
when fohled, and the point of the primaries
extending decidedly beyond the end of the
longest secondaries in the folded wing. Feet
moderate, in adaptation to arboreal life ; no
peculiarity of the hind claws. These char-
acters easily serve to distinguish the present
subfamily from the two foregoing; but the
full extent of their applicability, and therefore the content of the subfamily Citcxlimc, remains
uncertain for lack of evidence in the cases of several genera. Regarding external characters
alone, there are 17 genera which have the long flat wing, all but two of them exclusively Old
World, and one of these two (Cuculiis itself) only a straggler in America. It is probable that
a subfamily Coccyzince can be maintained for the American Tree Cuckoos, as distinguished
from those of the Old World, as given in former editions of the Key and in the A. 0. U. Supjtl.
List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 110.
COC'CYZUS. (Gr. kokkvC<o, kokkuzo, to cry "cuckoo!" k6kkv$, kokkux, a cuckoo.) Amer-
ican Tree Cuckoos. Rain-crows. Head not crested ; all the feathers soft. Bill about
equalling or rather shorter than head, stout at base, then much compressed, curved throughout,
tapering to a rather acute tip; nostrils basal, inferior, exposed, elliptical. Wings jiointed, but
not longer than tail; inner quills not folding over much of tlie primaries; 3d and 4th primaries
longest, 2d and 5th shorter, 1st much shorter still. Tail of soft rather tapering featliers, with
very obtuse ends; much graduated. Tibial feathers flowing; tarsi naked, shorter than middle
toe. Our species are strictly arboricolc l)ir(ls of lithe form, blended plumage and subdued colors ;
the head is not crested ; the tibial feathers are full, as in a hawk ; the sexes are alike, and the
young scarcely difl"erent; the ujiper parts are uniform satiny olive-gray, or '' quaker-color,"
with bronzy reflections. Lay numerous plain greenish elliptical eggs, in a rude nest of twigs
saddled on a branch or in a fork. Though not habitually parasitic, they may slip an egg in
other birds' nests, or in each other's, but they are rarely guilty of ogg-sucking. Oviposition
is tardy or irregular; the nests usually contain eggs in diff"erent stages of development, or eggs
anil young together. They are well-known inhabitants of our streets ami ])arks as well as of
woodland, noted for their loud, jerUy cries, which they are supposed to utter most frequently
in falling weather, whence their popular name, '' Rain-crow." Miirratory, insectivorous, and
608
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PIC ARIAi— COCCYGES.
frugivorous. They include in their insect fare enormous numbers of canlier-worms and other
caterpillars of the most noxious kinds, and are thus highly beneficial birds to man.
Analysis oj Species and Subspecies.
Bill black and bluish.
White below. Wings with little or no cinnamon. Tail-feathers not broadly white-ended . erythrophthalmus
Bill black and yellow. Tail-feathers broadly white-ended.
White below. Ears not dusky. Wings extensively cinnamon.
Eastern form americanus
Western form occidenlalis
Tawny below. Ears dusky.
Tawny tint uniform minor
Tawny tint bleaching anteriorly maynardi
C. erythrophthal'mus. (Gr. tpvdpos, eruthros, reddish ; dfjiOaXfios, ophthalmos, eye. Fig.
420.) Black-billed Cuckoo. Rain-crow. Adult <J 9 ^ Bill blackish except occasionally
Fig. 41'J. — YellDu-l.ilU'.l Cuckoo, }, nat. size. {From Brehm.)
a trace of yellowish, usually bluish at base below. Above, satiny olive-gray. Below, pure
white, sometimes with a faint tawny tinge on the fore-parts. Wings with little or no rufous.
Lateral tail-feathers not contrasting with the central, their tips for a short distance blackish,
then obscurely white ; no bold contrast of black with large white spaces. Bare circumocular
space livid ; edges of eyelids red. Length 11.00-12.00 ; extent about 15.50; wing 5.00-5.50;
tail 6.00-6.50; bill under an inch. Very young birds have the feathers of upper parts skirted
with whitish ; bill and feet pale bluish. Eastern U. S. and Canada, west to the Rocky Mts.,
N. to Labrador, common ; rather more northerly than americanus, being the commoner spe-
cies in New England; winters sparingly in Florida and on the Gulf Coast, but known to reach
South America ; accidental in Europe ; migrates in the U. S. mainly in Apr., May, Sept., Oct.,
CUCULID.E—CUCULIN.E: TREE CUCKOOS.
609
and breeds throughout about half of its N. Am. range in June and July, sometimes in May and
August. I have found it nesting in Assiniboia near the Dakotan border. Nest preferably in
bushes and small trees, often quite near the ground, rarely on it, a frail flat structure of twigs
with miscellaneous softer materials for lining ; eggs I.IO X 0.80, pale bluish or greenish, usually
Via. 420. — Black-billo<l Cuckoo.
deeper-colored, less elliptical and averaging smaller than those of the Yello\v-l)illed Cuckoo,
though probably not to be distinguished with certainty. They vary in lengtli from O.f't' to
1.18, and in breadtli from 0.75 to 0.90; tlie number found in nest is usually 3, 4, or 5, but e.v-
coptionally 2 to 7, almost invariably in difl'crent stages of incubation; they are occasionally
dropped in the nest of the yellow-billed species, but only e.vceptionally slipped in nests of other
birds, as a Dove's, Robin's, Catbird's, Flycatcher's, Warbler's, or Sparmw's. Kircs variously
atlvanced in iiicubatiou are ordinarily found in the saiiic ii<>t witli tli'duliiiL'-^ of difTiTcnt aires.
39
610
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PICARLE — COCCYGES.
C america'nus. (Lat. American. Figs. 418, 419, 421.) Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Rain-
crow. Rain-dove. Storm-crow. Chow-chow. Adult (J?: Bill black, extensively yellow
below and on sides of upper mandible. Feet dark plumbeous. Above, satiny olive-gray. Be-
low, pure white. Wings extensively cinna-
mon-rufous on inner webs of the quills. Cen-
tral tail-feathers like back ; rest black with
large white tips, outermost usually also
edged with white. Very constant in color,
the chief variation being in extent and inten-
sity of cinnamon on wings, which sometimes
shows through when the wings are closed,
and even tinges the coverts. Young differ
chiefly in having the white ends of the tail-
feathers less trenchant and extensive, the
black not so pure ; this state approaches the
condition of erythrojjhthahnus, but does not
match it. Length 1 1.00-12.00 ; extent 15.50-
16.50; wing about 5.50; tail about 6.00;
bill a short inch; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and
claw rather more. Eastern U. S., rather
more southerly than the last species, but N.
to Canada; W. to the limit of trees on the
Plains, S. in winter to Costa Rica and the
West Indies ; accidental in Greenland, Eu-
rope; breeds throughout its N- A. range.
Nest a slight structure of twigs, leaves, and
catkins, on a bough or in fork of a tree rather
than in a bush, seldom so low as that of the
Black -billed usually is, and up to 25 feet or
more ; it is flat, about 5 inches in diameter by 2 or less deep ; eggs 2 to 8, oftcnest 3, 4, or 5,
averaging 1.20 X 0.90, ranging in length from 1.10 to 1.30, quite elliptical, pale fugacious
bluish-green, fading paler still. In the South they may be taken in May, but in most parts in
June, July, August. This species is a later spring migrant than the other, on the whole a later
breeder, and rather earlier to leave in the fall ; a few linger in winter on our Gulf border, but
most pass on. Its eggs are not seldom dropped in nests of the other species, but rarely in those
of other birds.
C. a. occidenta'lis. (Lat. pertaining to the setting sun, i- e. western.) Western Yellow-
billed Cuckoo. Rather larger than the last, with stouter bill ; length about 12.50; wing
averaging nearly 6.00 ; tail over 6.00; bill a long inch, and 0.35 deep at base. Western U. S.,
Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, N. to British Columbia, S. through much of Mexico. Ridgw. Man.
1887, p. 273; Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 903; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 387 «.
(Included under the foregoing in 2d and 3d eds. of the Key.)
C mi'nor. (Lat. of less size, smaller: used to express the comparative degree of the difi'ereut
word parvus, small.) Mangrove Cuckoo. Black-eared Cuckoo. Bill much as in amer-
icanus. Above, the same quaker-color, but more decidedly ashy-gray toward and on head.
Below, pale orange-brown. Wings suffused with color of belly. Auriculars dark, in contrast.
Tail as in aniericanus, but outer feather not white-edged. Size of the others, or rather less,
but tail relatively longer, nearly 7.00. West Indies; Florida, Louisiana, and S. to Central
and South America. Eggs as in aniericanus. (C. seniculus of all former eds. of the Key.)
C m. may'nardi. (To C. J. Maynard, author of a valuable work on the Birds of Florida.)
Fig. 421. —Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
PSITTACI: PARROTS.
611
Maynard's Mangrove Cuckoo. Rather smaller than the last ; wiug 5.25 ; tail 6.50. Below
pale buff, bleaching anteriorly. The Bahaman form, which has also occurred on the Florida
Keys. Coccyzus mmjnardi Kidgw. Man. 1887, p. 274; C minor maynardi A. 0. U. Suppl.
List, 1889, p. 10; List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [38(3 a.]. Coccygus seniculus maynardi Coues, Key,
4th ed. 1890, p. 903; included under seniculus proper in earlier eds.
•CU'CULUS. (Lat. cucidus, tlie European Cuckoo, C. canorns.) Old World Tree
Cuckoos. Head not crested. Bill uiixlerate, not longer than head or tarsus. Nostrils
rounded, pierced in a swollen membrane. Wings well pointed, longer than tail, reaching wlien
folded beyond tiie upper coverts; the primaries barred crosswise. Tail graduated. Contains
numerous species of nearly all jjarts of the Old Wtirld, one of them accidentally occurring
vvitliin our limits.
C. cano'rus telepho'nus. (Lai. canorus, tuneful; canor, song, melody; cano, I sing: not
well applied to a songless Picariau bird with non-oscine syrinx ! Gr. TrjXf, tele, afar, far off,
(f)d)Vf, 2)hone, voice, sound.) Kamschatkan or Siberian Cuckoo. Telephone Cuckoo.
General color above gray, below white, the wings and tail much barred, notclied, or spotted
with white, the under parts barred with black. Length about 14.00; wing 9.00 or more; tail
7.00 or more. A subspecies of the common Cuckoo, inhabiting Siberia, of accidental occur-
rence on the Pribiloff Islands (St. Paul, July 4, 1890 : W. Palmer, Auk, Oct. 1894, p. 325).
Cucidus telephonus Heine, J. f. 0. 1863, p. 352. C canorus teleiihonus Stej. Bull. U. S.
Nat. Mus. No. 29, 1885, p. 224; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [388. 1.].
Order PSITTACI: Parrots.
Feet zygodactylous by reversion of 4th toe, covered with rugose granular scales or plates;
hill strongly epignathous, furnished with a (frequently feathered) cere, as iu Birds of Prey,
short and extremely stout (ex-
cept in Nestor) ; wings and tail
variable in form ; developed pri-
maries 10; secondaries aquin-
tocubital ; rectrices 12 (14 only
in Oreopsittacus). Parrots, in-
cluding Macaws, Cockatoos,
Lories, Paroquets, etc., form one
of the most strongly marked
groups of birds, as easily recog-
nized by their peculiar external
aspect as defined by anatomical
structure. They were formerly
included in an "order" Scan-
sores, on account of the paired
toes, but this is a comparatively
trivial character, indicating no
special affinity with other yoke-
toed l)irds (see under Picari(c).
It is ao'reed bv com'llon consent ^'"^ ■*--• — Carolina Parro(|uet, reJuced. (From Teiiiicy, afti'r Wilson. \
tfiat their peculiarities entitle them to rank with groups called orders in the present volume.
They might not ina])tly be styled Frugirorus Raptores : and in some respects exhibit a vague
analogy to Quadritmana (monkeys) among mammals.
The tongue is tliick and Hesiiy, in some genera ])eculiarly brusliy ; it has a horny nail on
the under side at the end, like a human finger, and witli tliis and its papilla* or fringe on liio
612 S YS TEMA TI C S YNOPSIS. — PSI TTA CI.
other side forms a delicate tactile organ. It is used to some extent in prehension, objects being
handled between itself and the upper mandible, and the palatal surface of the hook of the bill
is furnished in most genera with a set of parallel ridges forming a sort of file or rasp. The
tongue is borne upon a well-developed hyoidean skeleton, among the parts of which the large
entoglossal or glossohyal is highly characteristic, being foraminiferous, or consisting of paired
halves connected at the end by cartilage ; the basihyal develops a pair of parahyal processes
besides the usual urohyal, and the cornua are composed of long hypobranchials bearing j(jinted
ceratobranchials. Ability to articulate human speech is one of the most notorious faculties of
certain Parrots. This seems to be due to the lingual peculiarities just noticed, in connection with
certain syringeal formations, for the syrinx is peculiarly constructed, in several different ways.
The bronchial half rings may be weak and separate cartilages, or several of them consolidated
into a bony box ; there are three pairs of intrinsic muscles, and the extrinsic are inserted some-
times into the pleural membrane, instead of the sternum. Finally it may be noted in this
connection that the bill is used in climbing, like a hand ; the upper mandible being much more
freely movable upon the skull than is usual among birds. This mobility is secured by the
articulation instead of suture of the maxillae, premaxillae, and nasals with the frontal, palatals,
and jugals. The mandibular symphysis is strong, short, and obtuse; the lower jaw is like a
thumb as opposed to the finger-like upper jaw, and the jaws as a prehensible organ may be
likened to the claw of a lobster.
Other osteological characters are : Palate desmognathous ; nasals holorhinal ; nasal sep-
tum much ossified ; bony orbits of eyes frequently completed ring-like by union of lacrymals
with postorbital processes of the squamosal ; no basipterygoids. Cervical vertebrae as a
rule 14, rarely 13 or 15; atlas either notched or completely perforated by odontoid process of
axis. Sternal ribs 5 or 6 ; sternum entire behind, or there fenestrate, more rarely with one
pair of notches. Furculum variable; weak, or without symphysis, or so defective as to be re-
duced to its coracoid end, or wanting entirely. Tarsometatarsus short and thick, its lower end
modified to suit the position of 4th toe. There are 3 decided modifications of the carotids —
right and left present, both running deep in the vertebrarterial canal ; or both present and the
left superficial ; or only the left developed. In the digestive system: a well -developed oeso-
phageal crop and zonary proventriculus ; gall bladder usually wanting (present in Cncatua) ;
intestines extremely variable in length in different genera (at a maximum in Edectus). Oil-
gland absent from certain genera, present and tufted in others. Plumage aftershafted, in many
cases including powder-down feathers, either aggregated in a pair of lumbar patches, or scat-
tered indefinitely ; spinal pteryla forked. Leg-muscles singularly variable : ambiens present
and normal, present and incomplete, or absent, hence the order is indifferently homalogonatous
or anomalogonatous ; femorocaudal, semitendiuosus and its accessory, present; accessory
femorocaudal absent, hence the normal formula A X Y, as usual in Picarian birds. Plantar
tendons desmopelmous in an ordinary way, in spite of the zygodactylism.
Thus, though the order is so definitely circumscribed that no one doubts of any bird
whether it be psittacine or not. Parrots differ remarkably among themselves in certaiu struc-
tural characters which in most birds have a high classificatory value. The systematic position
of Psittaci between Picarice and Accipitres is probably the best that can be assigned in any
linear arrangement.
The eggs of Parrots are plural, white, and almost invariably laid in holes with little or no
nidification ; the young hatch naked and helpless, but acquire down before fledging. The
order is mainly developed in tropical regions of both hemispheres, but has some representa-
tives in both temperate zones, extending from lat. 42° N. to lat. 55° S. " Parrots abound in
all tropical countries, but, except in Australia and New Zealand, rarely extend into the tem-
perate zone. The Indian and Ethiopian regions are poor in parrots, while the Australian is
the richest, containing many genera and even whole families peculiar to it " (Newton). A
PSITTACI: PARROTS.
613
recent monographer, Finsch, recognised only 854 species as well determined, distributing them
in 20 genera; 142 species are American, 28 African, and 18 Asiatic; the Moluccas and New
Guinea have 83, Australia 59, and Polynesia 29. A later systematist, Reichexow, admits
430 species, assigned to 45 genera ; but the latest, Salvadori, finds 499 species of 80 genera,
besides about 50 more described species he has not succeeded in identifying.
Division of Psittaci into families has taxed the ingenuity of ornithologists; for, so vari-
ously interrelated are the numerous genera, that their grouping fluctuates with almost every
character or set of characters selected for use in classification. Grarrod's curious anatomical
Fia. 423. — Carolina Parroquel, \ luit, siz
From Brelim, after Audubon.)
investigations, amplified and endorsed ])y Beddard, show that Psittaci may be arranged in two
series, according to cluiractcrs afforded by the carotids and ambiens: I. Pal.-kounitiiid.i^ :
Carotids 2 (except in Cacatua), left normal, no ambiens. II. Psittacid.ic : Carotids 2.
left superficial, ambiens present in one series of genera, absent in others. In the subfamily
(1) Paleeornithinee, there is no further deviation; in (2) Cacatiiinfe, hes\i\vs lack of right
carotid in Cacatua itself, the orbital ring is completely ossified, and develops a bony process
bridging the temporal fossa ; in (3) Stringnphup, wbicli includes the curious Higbtlcss Ground
Parrot or Owl Parrot of New Zealand (Stringnps hubwptiliot), tlie furculum and sternal keel
are deficient or defective. Psitlaridrr include (4) Atiurr, in wbicli tbe ambiens is j)resent ;
(5) I'l/nhuriiur, iu wliicli it is absent, without ftirtlier modification; (0) PlaOjcercina:, wo
614 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PSITTACL
ambiens, no furculum ; (7) Chrysotinrc, no ainbiens, a furculum, no oil-gland. There are thus
7 subfamilies of 2 families of Psittaci, as based solely upon the particular set of anatomical
characters utilized by Garrod for his purposes. But this surprising result is " far from being
satisfactory ; " it violates some obvious evidences of affinity in other respects, and in particular
makes the geographical distribution of the order unintelligible ; it has therefore been rejected
by common consent of the later monographers, as Finsch, Reichenow^, and Salvadori.
Reichenow's arrangement (1881) presents 9 families, as follows : (1) Pioxid.e, American (ex-
cept the African genus Paeocephalus) , short-tailed ; (2) Conurid^, all American, long-tailed ;
(3) PsiTTACiD.E, restricted to the African genera Psittacus and Coracopsis, or the Jak()S and
Vasas ; (4) Pal^ornithid.e, Old World ; (5) Trichoglossio.e (or LoriidcB), the Lories and
Brush-tongued Paroquets, of Australia, Polynesia,- etc. ; (6) Micropsittid^, a small family
of diminutive Paroquets of the 3 genera Psittacella, Cydojisittacus, and Nasiterna, Austro-
Malayan and Papuan ; (7) Platycercid^, Old World ; (8) Plictolophid^ (or Cacatuidce),.
Austro-Malayan and Papuan, with the New Zealand genus Nestor forced into this connection ;
(9) Stringopid.e, with the New Zealand genus Strwgops and the Australian Geopsittacus and.
Pezoporiis. In the British Museum Catalogue of 1891, Salvadori arranges the Psittaci as fol-
lows : (1) Nestorid^e, one genus. New Zealand; (2) Loriid^, 14 genera, Austro-Malayan
and Polynesian ; (3) Cyclopsittacid^, 2 genera, Cyclopsittacus and Neopsittacus, both
Papuan ; the group thus not coincident with Micropsittid(B as just given ; (4) Cacatuidce :
(a) Cacatuince, 5 genera, Austro-Malayan and Papuan, and {h) Calopsittacince , one Australian
genus; (5) Psittacid^e, with 6 subfamilies: (a) Nasiterninae, one genus, Papuan; {b) Co-
nurince, 15 genera, all American; (c) Pionince, 10 genera, all American except the African
Poeocephalus ; (d) PsittacincB, 2 African genera, Psittacus and Coracojisis, with the Papuan
genus Dasyptilus ; (e) PalccornithincB, 15 genera, widely distributed in the Old World;
(f) Platycercina, 11 genera, Australian and Polynesian; and (6) Stringopid^j, one New
Zealand genus. This arrangement is an improvement upon all earlier ones, although my dis-
tinguished friend confesses that it " does not bring us nearer to an understanding of the mutual
or phylogenetic relations of the f;unilies.''
It seems to me probable that certain genera of Psittaci will prove refractory to any scheme
which may be devised. Thus, the African Poeocephalus and the Papuan Dasyptilus are inex-
plicable in geographical distribution, if they be really members of the respective subfamilies to
which they are assigned by Professor Salvadori. A number of genera of chietly pygmy Paroquets
are particularly troublesome ; such are Psittacella, Psittinus, Psittacula, Agapornis, Cyclo-
psittacus, Bolbopsittacus, Nasiterna, Nymphieus, and Nanodes. Nevertheless, if we duly cor-
relate anatomical with external characters, and both of these with certain faunal considerations,
we may arrive at a classification of the Parrots which probably requires a minimum of excep-
tions to be taken or anomalies to be further provided for. Without prejudice to a few questions
of fact which remain open, from lack of information on some structural points as correlated with
geographical distribution, one way out of our present difficulties may be found by recognizing a
greater number of families and subfamilies, primarily divided into two subordinal or superfamily
series. Thus, if we make the genus Stringops a family Stringopid^ of a suborder Strin-
gopes, characterized as ecarinate and efurculate, with an ambiens, complete bony orbits, two
f'arotids, tufted oil-gland, soft plumage with a facial disc as in Owls, wings unfit for flight, etc.,
the remaining Parrots may form the
Suborder EUPSITTACI, Carinate Parrots,
with the furculum normally complete, exceptionally defective. With a single possible excep-
tion, that of the genus Poeocephalus, the Eupsittaci may conveniently and not unnaturally be
considered in two series, Pal^eogtean and Neogaean. 1. Pal^og^i. 1. The Platycer-
EUPSITTACI: CARINATE PARROTS. 615
CID^ are a large family, of wide distribution in the Old World, without complete furculum,
and in some other respects related to the Stringopes, especially through such genera as Pezo-
porus, Geopsittacus, and Melopsittacus. The family includes terrestrial genera, as does no other
of this suborder; the orbits are incomplete, the tongue is ordinary, and the bill has the usual
rasp-like palatal surface ; the tail is long, as a rule. Other genera than the three named are
Neophetna, Cyanorliamphus, Psej^hotus, Barnardius, Porphyrocephalus, and Platycercus (for
Nymphicus and Nanodes see below). 2. The Pal^eornithid.e are likewise a large, widely-dis-
tributed family, sharing the incomplete; orbits of the preceding family, but having the furculum
complete ; bill with the rasp and tongue simple ; two carotids ; an oil-gland ; no ambiens.
Unquestionable genera of this family, besides Palceornis, are Eclectiis, Geoffroyus, Tanygna-
thus, Prioniturus, Polytelis, Ptistes, Pyrrhulopsis, Aprosmictus, and Loriculus. 'S. Agapor-
NiTHiDiE? The Ethiopian genus Agapornis lacks a completed furculum (in this respect
agreeing with the genus Psittacula, of the Neogtean series), and appears to represent a tenable
family type. With this genus appear to be related a number of Palseogasan pygmy Parrots,
such as Psitfinus, PsittnceUa, Cyclopsittacus, Bolhopsittacus, whicli have a fnrculum, and even
JMicropsitta (or Nasitoiui). But at present neither the families Micropsittidtc nor Cyclopsit-
tucidce can be satisfactorily diagnosticated. Among these equivocal genera it seems possible
that three families may be implicated. Bolbopsittacus approaches the next family in the longi-
tudinal instead of transverse striation of the palatal surface of the hook of the bill ; the bill is
unnotched ; in Cyclopsittacus and Psittinus the hook is notched ; in Micropsitta the tail is
mucronate. 4. Nestorid^e. The isolated New Zealand genus Nestor is the only living rep-
resentative of this family, in which there are an ambiens, an oil-gland, two carotids witli the
left superficial, a furculum, and incomplete orbital ring. The bill is notably elongate, without
transverse strife under the hook ; in which latter respect, as well as in the fringed tongue, this
family apjiroaches the next. 5. Lorud.e or Trichoglossid^e. In the Lories or Brush-
tongued Parrots, highly characteristic of Australia, Papua, and Polynesia, but absent from
New Zealand, the tongue has the peculiarity indicated by the name, the papillae being highly
developed and reversible when the tongue is protruded ; the bill has tio transverse rugie, and
is short and stout, with simple culmen; the ambiens is lost (always?); the furculum is com-
plete ; there are two carotids, and a tufted oil-gland. Among the undoubted genera of this
family (which does not include the genus Loricidus, however), there is much variation in ex-
ternal form, and probably several subfamilies are implicated ; I only name the OreopsittacincE,
with one Papuan genus and species, unique in the whole order in having 14 rectrices. Tlie
equivocal Australian genus Nanodes (or Lathamus) may belong here, ratlier than in Platy-
cercidce, as it is brush-tongued, with a furculum, orbital ring, no ambiens, etc. 6. Caca-
TUID.^;. This Austro-Malayan and Papuan family is well-marked by the bony temporal bar,
in addition to the completed bony orbits; there is no ambiens, and great variability in the
carotids and oil-gland; carotid single and sinistral as a rule. The bill is transv<'rsely rugose
under the hook, and the tongue is simple; the head is conspicuously crested. There are sev-
eral subfamilies. The Cacatuincc have feathered cheeks and short tails ; in M icroglossince the
clicelis are naked and the tail is short; in CalopsittacincE the tail is pointed with narrow feath-
ers. The curious genus Nymjjhiciis seems to be more nearly related to the Cockatoos than to
any others, and may represent a fourtli subfamily, NymphicincE. 7. PsiTTACin.*:, in a re-
stricted sense, are definable by exclusion of the particular combinations of characters of other
Palteog.'ean families. There are two carotids, tlie left superficial ; a complete furculum ; incom-
plete orbits; the ambiens equivocal. The tail is short; the cheeks are more or less denudeii,
as a rule ; there is no crest, and tlie sexes are alike. The bill has the usual rasp, as in all
groups except the Lories, Nestors, and allies. This family is diaracteristically Ethiopian, with
ail outlying PapHan representative, and may include tliree subfamilies: I'sitidcitKr, type J'sil-
lacHS eritliacns, the common gray red-tailed Jako of Africa, and subtype Coraco2)sis, the black
616 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PS ITT A CI — ARID^.
Madagascan Vasas ; Poeocephalince, the ordinary green or brown African Parrots, so similar to
the American Amazons ; and the Papuan black Parrot, Dasyptilince, of one genus and species.
II. Neog^i. 8. PiONiD^ are the short-tailed green Amazons and some other Parrots of
tropical America, agreeing in a complete furculum, two carotids, no ambiens (except Caica) ;
the cere always naked. Leading genera of this family are Chrysotis, Pionus, Pachynus, and
Brotogerys, without oil-gland, and forming the true Pionincej more special types are Deroptyus,
Pionopsittacus, Triclaria, Urochroma, Caica (?) and Gypopsittacus, with an oil-gland, probably
representing another subfamily, Pionopsittacince. 9. Psittaculid^. Certain short-tailed
pygmy American Parrots differ notably from the other Neogfean forms in the absence of a com-
plete furculum, as well as of an ambiens, in which respects they agree with the Palseogeean
genus Agapornis; and if the distinction of New World from Old World forms does not break
down in this case, they must be regarded as a different family. They differ from the Pionidce
in possessing an oil-gland. The orbital ring is incomplete. There are numerous species of
the single genus Psittacula, in which the sexes differ in color. All remaining American Par-
rots constitute the
Family ARID-<E : Macaws, etc.,
being the long-tailed Neogfean forms commonly rated as a subfamily Arince or Conurince of
Psittacidce. It is characteristic of these birds to possess a complete furculum, an ambiens (want-
ing in Pyrrhura), an oil-gland, and two carotids, the left superficial ; in which respects they
represent an ancestral type. In one subfamily, the Arince proper or Macaws, the orbital ring
varies in completeness ; the face is more or less denuded ; the size is great, with long gradu-
ated tail, and the colors are very showy, as red, blue, yellow, green. The genera are Ara,
Anodorhynchtis, and Cyayiopsittaciis. The other genera of AridcB form the
Subfamily CONURIN/E: Wedge-tailed American Parrots,
of medium and small size and mostly green color, witli or withf)Ut red or yellow ; the cheeks
and usually also the cere feathered; the tail wedged. The orbital ring is generally complete
(incomplete in Myopsittacus and Bolborhynchus) . The chief exception to the compactness of
this group is afforded by the genus Pyrrhura, which lacks an ambiens and has the cere naked.
Several genera, the largest of which is the following :
CONU'RUS. (Gr. (cwi/oy. ^'onos, a cone ; ovpd, oura, ia.i\; cuneate-tail.) Conures. Par-
ROQUETS. Tail lengthened, nearly equalling wings, cuneate, with tapering feathers, graduated
nearly half its length. Face entirely feathered excepting a slight space about eye. Nostrils
in feathered cere (in our species). Bill very stout, with bulging lateral outline, broadly rounded
culmen and gonys, and toothed or lobed commissure. Tarsi very short, much less than inner
anterior toe; outer anterior longer than outer posterior toe. Feet granular-reticulate, becoming
scutellate on toes. Wings pointed ; in our species 2d and .3d primaries longest, 1st and 4th
subequal and shorter. A large genus of tropical America, of about 30 species, with one U. S.
species, which differs from the rest in having the nostrils hidden in feathers and 4th primary
not attenuated; it is type of Cow?«rojJS'is Salv AD. 1891.
C. carolinen'sis. (Lat. Carolinian. Figs. 422, 423.) Carolina Conure. Parroquet
or Parrakeet. Kelinky. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color;
wings more or less variegated with blue and yellow. Sexes alike. Young simply green.
Length 12.50-13 50; extent 21.00-22.50; wing 7.00-8.00 ; tail 6.00-7.00. Southern States;
up the Mississippi Valley to the Missouri region ; W. to Arkansas and the Indian Territory ;
in 1806 found in midwinter in tiie mountains of Colorado by Pike's Expedition ; recently Kan-
sas, Nebraska, Iowa; formerly strayed to Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan, but of late
has receded even from the Carolinas ; still locally abundant only in Florida, less so in Arkansas
RAPTORES: BIRDS OF PREY.
617
and the Indian Territory. But it would seem that if the cruel and wanton slaughter to which
tlie gentle creatures are subjected by idlers goes on, iliey must before long be exterminated.
Gregarious, frugivorous, and granivorous ;. not regularly migratory, but roving and sporadic.
Said to breed in companies in hollow trees ; also to build open nests on horizontal boughs of cy-
press ; eggs white, 1.40 X 1-0.5, variable in shape, rough in texture; normal number and time
of laying unknown ; in captivity '3-.T, June-September.
RHYNCHOPSIT'TA. (Gr. pvy^os, hrugchos, beak, and y^iTra, piiitta, for ■^irraKr), yj/irraKos,
or (TiTTaKTj, psittace, psittakos, or sittace, a parrot.) Beakeu Parrots. Bill very larije,
compressed, with flat gonys and long hook of upper mandible. Cere densely feathered, as in
the foregoing, the nostrils in the feathers. Tail cuueate, graduated on(^-third its length. Size
large. One Mexican species.
R. pachyrhyn'cha. (Gr. naxvs, paclius, thick; and piy-j^os-) Thick-billed Parrot.
Green, brightest on cheeks and ears ; spot before eye and under surface of quills and tail-
feathers blackish; primary under coverts yellow; forehead, lores, line over eye, edge and bend
of wings, and thighs, dark red ; bill black ; feet dark. Young simply green, with little if any
red or yellow, and the bill whitish for the most part. Length lG.00-17.00; wing about 10.00;
tail about 7.00, graduated 2.50; bill 1.50 along chord of culmen, rather more in depth. High-
lands of Mexico, north casually to the Chiricahua mountains, Arizona; specimen in Miis.
Acad. Phila. labelled Rio Grande, J. W. Audubon, Baird, B. N. A. 18.58, p. 66; sup-
posed to jiave occurred in S. W. Texas and S. New Mexico, Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 269;
not previously admitted in the Key ; A. 0. U. Hypothetical List, 1886, p. .'^54 ; 1895,
p. 330, No. 16.
Order RAPTORES: Birds of Prey.
Bill epignathous, cered; feet not zggodacti/lous. Rapacious birds (Ropfores, Raptatores or
Acdpitres of authors, Aetomorphcc of Huxley) form a fairly natural assemblage, to which this
expression furnishes a clew.
(Parrots, probably the only other
birds with strongly hooked and ^-2
truly cered bill, are yoke-toed.) ^ 1
Raptores present several osteo- -^^^g^ .J
logical and other anatomical ^^^t ^
characters. Sternum ample and *^^=^ -^^^"
deep keeled, its posterior margin
doubly or singly notched or fe-
nestrate on each side, or entire
with central emargination ; fur-
culum anchylosed or not. Angle
of mandible not recurved ; max-
illo-palatines united to an ossified
septum ; rostrum arched and
hooked ; basipterygoids present
or absent; skull desmognathous
(after a fashion) and holorliinal.
Hallux always present, usually
valid and insistent; outei* toe re-
versible in some cases, never per- ''"■ '-' ~ "•"" '^ ^ ""■' " i""'>- '"'■'"" Mi. n.. i
manently reversed. Ambiens present (except in Strigen); biceps s[i|) absent; nil excepting
Gijpogeranidca and some CathdilitU's possess the fcinorocaudal. but not its accessory, nor tin-
618 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES.
seinitendinosus nor its accessory (excepting Cathartides, which have the two last named, and
Gyi^ogeranides, which have these and the accessory femorocaudal). Coeca present (except in
Cathartides) . Oil-gland present in all, nude in Cathartides and as a rule in Striges. After-
shafts present (usually), lacking in Pandion and nearly all Striges, and all Cathartides ; wing
aquintocubital. Powder down patches sometimes occur; there are two carotids ; the syrinx,
when developed, is of ordinary broncho-tracheal character, or bronchial (Striges). The nature
is altricial, yet ptiloptedic, the young being downy when hatched, and long fed by the parents in
the nest. The alimentary canal varies with the families, but differs from that of vegetarian birds,
in adaptation to exclusively animal diet. In the higher types, the whole structure betokens
strength, activity, and ferocity, carnivorous propensities and predaceous nature. Most of the
smaller, or weaker, species feed much upon insects ; others more particularly upon reptiles,
and lish ; others upon carrion ; but the majority prey upon other birds, and small mammals,
captured in open warfare. To this end, the claws no less than the beak are specially adapted,
by their development in the "talons" which we constantly associate with our ideas of Birds
of Prey. These weapons of offence and defence are as a rule of great size, strength, crook-
edness, and acuteness ; also peculiar in being convex on the sides, gradually narrowed to the
point, and little or not excavated underneath. Inner claw larger than outer ; hinder smaller
than middle ; all very flexibly jointed, so that they may be strongly bent underneath the toes,
carrying to the extreme the grasping power of the feet. Legs muscular and largely free from
the body, feathered to the suffrago or beyond ; when unfeathered, the tarsal envelop varies in
character. Wings ample, and, as usual in birds below Passeres, the coverts long and numerous,
covering three-fourths or more of the folded wing. The tail, very variable in shape, has 12
rectrices (with rare exceptions as 14 in Thalassoaetus, Neophron, etc).
Representatives of this order are found in every part of the world. They are divisible into
four primary groups, of more classificatory value than that attaching to average families in
ornithology, and therefore to be held as supcrfamilies or suborders. One of these, Gypogeran-
ides, consists of the single remarkable Serpentarius serpentarius, the Secretary-bird or Serpent-
eater of Africa ; this shows a curious grallatorial analogy, being mounted on long legs like a
Crane, and has several important structural modifications. The other three are Striges or
Owls; Accipitres or Hawks, Eagles, etc., including Old World Vultures; and Cathartides or
American Vultures — these last more different from the others collectively than the rest are
from one another. All are well represented in this country. They are recognizable at a
glance, but the following analysis will serve to place the characters of the suborders and their
respective families in strong relief.
Analysis oj Suborders and Families.
Feet scarcely raptorial, with weak, blunt, lengthened, little curved or contractile claws. Hind toe elevated, not
more than half as long as outer toe, with small claw ; middle toe lengthened ; outer toe not versatile ; front toes
all webbed at base ; basal joint of middle toe longer than either of the succeeding ones. Nostrils large, perfo-
rate. Bill little raptorial, lengthened and somewhat contracted in continuity, tomia never lobed or toothed, tip
blunt, little hooked. Head largely naked. Index digit with a large claw. No lower larynx, coeca, aftershafts,
or tuft of oil-gland. Ambiens present; femorocaudal present or absent : semitendinosus and its accessory pres-
ent plantar tendons sympelmous, but flexors after fusion split into tendons for 2d-4th toes, and others for 1st-
3d toes CATHARTIDES
Diurnal ; gressorial ; feed exclusively on carrion Cathartid.e
Feet highly raptorial, with large, strong, sharp, curved, contractile claws. Hind toe not elevated, lengthened, more
than half as long as outer toe, with large claw ; outer toe often versatile ; front toes with slight basal webbing
between outer and middle, or none. Nostrils small, imperforate. Bill short, stout, very seldom contracted in
its continuity, tomia often once or twice lobed or toothed, tip sharp, much hooked. Head feathered completely
or in greatest part. Coeca present, long or very small. Plumage with or without aftershafts. Ambiens present
or absent. Femorocaudal present. Semitendinosus and its accessory absent. As a rule, saltatorial, and kill
their prey.
Physiognomy not peculiar ; no great lateral expansion of the cranium or thickening of its walls with diploe ;
eyes looking sideways ; no facial disc or only an imperfect one ; base of bill not hidden by appressed
feathers. Nostrils wholly in the cere. Tomia usually toothed or lobed. No external ear-conch. Outer
STRIGES: NOCTTJRNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 619
toe not shorter than inner, and rarely versatile. Basal joint of middle toe longer than the next. Feet
with rare exceptions mostly or entirely naked of feathers, scutellate or reticulate, or both ; toes always
bare and scaly. Sternum commonly single-notched or -fenestrate on each side, sometimes entire. Oil-
gland tufted. Plumage compact, usually aftershafted ; flight audible. Ambiens present. Diurnal
ACCIPITRES
Outer toe not reversible, and plumage usually aftershafted. Feet sympelmous or desmopelmous :
tendon of flexor perforans supplying 2d-lth toes, that of flexor hallucis going to 1st toe and by
vinculum to 2d toe Fai,coxid.s;
Outer toe reversible, and plumage without aftershafts. Feet sympelmous, but tendon of flexor per-
forans going to 2d-4th toes, that of flexor hallucis to all the toes PASDIONID.E
Physiognomy peculiar by reason of great lateral expansion, lengthwise contraction and diploic thickening of
the often unsymmetrical cranium ; eyes looking forward, surrounded with a radiated disc of modified
feathers, in front appressed, autrorse, hiding base of bill. Nostrils usually at edge of the cere. Tomia
never lobed or toothed. A large external ear-conch often developed. Outer toe completely versatile,
shorter than iimer toe. Basal joint of middle toe not longer than second, much shorter than the penul-
timate one. Feet usua'ly feathery or bristly to or on the toes. Oil-gland nude. Plumage usually with-
out aftershafts, soft and lax ; flight noiseless. Ambiens absent. Feet desmopelmous, tendon of flexor
perforans to 2d^th toes, that of flexor hallucis to hind tee, only by vinculum acting also on 2d-4th toes.
Nocturnal STRIGES
Sternum entire behind, with central emargiuation : furculum anchylosed. Middle claw pectinate.
Facial disc complete, triangul:ir ALCC0NiD.a;
Sternum notched or fenestrate ; furculum free. Middle claw not pectinate. Facial disc circular
when complete Strioid.s;
Suborder STRIGES : Nocturnal Birds of Prey ; Owls.
(Accipitres Nocturnes, or Nyctharpages.)
Head very large, and especially bri)ad from side to side, but sliorteued lengthwise, the
"face" thus formed further defined by a more or le.^s complete "ruff," or circlet of radiating
feathers of peculiar texture, on each side. Eyes very large, looking more or less directly for-
ward, set in a circlet of radiating bristly feathers, and overarched by a superciliary shield.
External ears extremely large, often provided with an operculum or movable flap, presenting
tlie nearest approach, among birds, to the ear-conch of mammals. Bill shaped much as in or-
dinary Accipjitres, but thickly beset at base with close-pressed antrorse bristly feathers, and
never toothed. Nostrils large, commonly opening at edge of cere rather than entirely in its
substance. Hallux of average length, never obviously elevated ; outer toe more or less perfectly
versatile (never permanently reversed), shorter than inner toe ; its first tliree joints very short,
altogether not as long as the succeeding one ; basal joint of middle toe not longer than the next.
Claws all very long, much curved, and extremely sharp, that of middle toe pectinate in some
species. As a rule, tarsi more or less completely feathered, and whole foot often thus covered.
Among numerous osteological characters may be mentioned frequent asymmetry of skull; wide
separation of inner and outer tablets of brain-case by intervention of spongy diploe ; spongy
maxillo-palatines an<l lacrymals, which latter long persist distinct ; desmognathous palate ;
holorhinal nostrils ; ba.'^i[)terygoid processes ; commonly mjinubriated and 4-notched (if not
entire) sternum ; a peculiar structure of tarso-metatarsus ; a particular arrangement of bones
about the shoulder-joint, and weakness of furculum when not anchylosed with sternum. The
cervical vertebrfe appear to be constantly 14. Five pairs of ribs reacli the sternum. Gullet
capacious, but not dilated into a special crop; gizzard only moderately muscular; intestines
short and wide; coeca extremely long, club-shaped, sometimes largely dilated at the ends.
Syrinx wholly bronchial, with one pair of intrinsic and one of extrinsic muscles. Oil-gland
nude or barely tufted. Ambiens absent, as also semitendinosus and accessory, accessory femo-
rocaudal, biccj)S slip, and expansor of secondaries ; feniorocaudal present. Feet desmopelmous,
in the peculiar way abovesaid. Wings aquintocubital. The featliers liave no aftcrsliaft, or
exceptionally a very small one, and the general plumage is very soft and lilended.
The Nocturnal Birds of Prey will lie immediately recognized by tlnir peculiar pliysi<ig-
ni.iiiy, in.lepciKlcntly of tlie technical characters that mark tlu-m as a natural, sharply-defined
620
5 YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — RA P TOR ES — S TRIGES.
group. They are highly monomorphic, without extremes of aberrant form ; Lut the ease with
which they are collectively defined is a measure of the difficulty of their rigid subdivision, which
is not yet satisfactorily determined. Too much stress has been laid upon the trivial, although
evident, circumstance of presence or absence of the peculiar "horns'' that many species pos-
sess. These are tufts of lengthened feathers rising over the eyes from the forehead, commonly
called "ear-tufts;" but they have nothing to do with the ears, and are more appropriately
named "plumicorns," or feather-horns. More reliable characters may be drawn from the
structure of the external ear and facial disc, the modifications of which appear to bear directly
upon mode of life ; these parts being as a rule most highly developed in the more nocturnal
species; some points of internal structure have been found correspondent. Thus, one group,
Fig. 4 .'5. — '■ Est illis Slririihu!: nomen ; sed nominis Imjus
Causa quod horrenda stridere uocte soieiit." — Ovid, Fiisli, vi. 139.
" Screec/i-oivls they 're called, because with dismal cry
lu darkling uight from place to place they fly."
of which the Barn Owl, Aluco flammeuSi is type, is very distinct in the angular contour and
high development of the facial disc, pectination of middle claw, and other characters upon
which a family Aluconidce may be established. Probably the rest of the suborder fall in two
subdivisions of a single family Strigidce, the essential characters of which have already been
contrasted with those of A lueonidtc.
The nearest relatives of Striges, outside their own order, are Caprimulgi — the relationship
being really very close through tlie genus Steatornis. As is well known. Owls are eminently
nocturnal birds ; but to tliis rule there are numerous striking exceptions. This general habit
is correspondent to the modification of the eyes, the size and structure of which enalile the
birds to see by night, and cause them to sufi"er from the glare of sunlight. Most species pass
the daytime secreted in hollow trees, or dense foliage and other dusky retreats, resuming their
ALUCONID.E: BARN OWLS. 621
wonted activity after nightfall. Owing to the jjeculiar texture of the plumage, their flight is
perfectly noiseless, like the mincing steps of a cat ; and no entirely fanciful analogy has been
drawn between these birds and the feline carnivora that chiefly prey stealthily in the dark.
The nest is commonly a rude affair of sticks gathered in the various places of diurnal resort;
the eggs are several (commonly 3-G), white, subspherical. The 9> '^s a rule, is larger than
(J, but the sexes are alike in color; the coloration is commonly blended and diffuse, difficult of
concise description. Owls feed entirely upon animal substances, and capture their prey alive
— small quadrupeds and birds, reptiles and insects, and even fish. Like most other Raptores,
they eject from the mouth, after a meal, bones, hair, feathers, and other indigestible sub-
stances, made up into a pellet. They are noted for their loud outcries, so strange and often so
lugubrious, that it is no wonder traditional superstition places these dismal night-birds in the
category of things ill-omened. Besides the well-known lines which are set beneath two f)f the
accompanying figures, the reader may recall the Owl as among the 'portents weird' whic'a
foretell the fate of the unhappy queen of Carthage, when, deserted by 'pious' ^Eneas, she
resolves to die.
" Solaque culminibus ferali carmine huho
Saepe queri, et longas iu fletum ducere voces." — Vero , ^n., iv. 4G2.
The hoot-owl, brooding ominous above
Her fateful house, is wearing dismal night away
With wild vociferation. Portents weird, etc.
Owls are among the most completely cosmopolitan birds; with minor modifications ac-
cording to circumstances, their general habits are much the same the world over. A difficulty
of correctly estimating the number of species arises from tlie fact that many, especially of the
more generalized types, have a wide geographical distribution, and, as in nearly all such cases,
they split into more or less easily recognized races, the interpretation <jf which is at present a
matter of opinion rather than a settled issue. About 200 species pass current ; out of about 50
generic names now in vogue, probably less than one-half represent some structural peculiarity.
Family ALUCONID^: Barn Owls.
(Fam. STRIGID.E of A. 0. U. Lists.)
Two genera of Owls, Aluco and Heliodilus, difi'er so much from other Striges that they
may properly constitute a family apart from StrigidcB. The prime character is anchylosis of
furculum with sternum, which latter bone has no manubrium in front and is entire behind (un-
usual ; compare fig. 5<)). There is no bony canal for the passage of the extensor tendon of the
toes. External characters are : facial disc and outer ear-parts highly developed, the former
not circular, but rather triangular, the latter symmetrical ; middle and inner toes of about equal
lengths; inner edge of middle claw serrate or jagged, simulating the pectination seen in Capri-
midgidcB, to which birds these Owls are curiously related through Steatortm. The pterylosis,
as well as pattern of coloration, is peculiar: the plumage is very downy ; the habits of the
species are eminently nocturnal. The U'a<ling genus, Aluco, of several species or races, is
nearly cosmop<ditan, being absent only from high latitudes and some insular rcirions. The
other genus, Heliodilus, is a Madagascan tyi)e. A third genus, Phodilus or Pholodilns, of
which one species, P. badius. inhabits portions of eastern Asia, Ceylon, Java, and Borneo,
is the connecting link with the other family, and Udw removed thereto, though long kept in
the present one. It has no manubrium sterni and no bony canal of the tarso-metatarsus, but
the sternum is notched behind, and the incomplete clavicles do not reach its keel ; the outer
toe has only 4 phalanges. The gentral external aspect of P. hndius resembles that of the
I?arn Owls. — X. 15. Adoption <<{ Ahico for IJani Owls, instead o( Stri.r, rcquiri's the present
622
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
family to be called Aluconidce, instead of Strigidce; which latter name is to be applied to the
succeeding fiimily. The Linnseau genus Strix, 1758, which included all Owls, was first di-
vided in 17(J0 by Brisson, who made ^'. stridula the type of his restricted genus; consequently,
Strix cannot be used for the Barn Owls. The first tenable name for the genus of which the
Barn Owl is type is Alnco Fleming, Phil. Zool. ii, 1822, p. 236. S. aluco Linn. 1758, p. 93,
No. 6, is the European Barn Owl, commonly called S. Jiammea, though S. aluco LiNN. 1766,
p. 132, No. 7, is S. stri-
dula : see Newton, Ibis,
1876, pp. 94-104, and Diet.
B, 1894, p. 673. On re-
viewing tlie whole case, I
find that Newton is indis-
putably right, according to
A. 0. U. canons of nomen-
clature ; and the A. 0. U.
Checlv List violates its own
rules in calling the present
f a m i 1 y Strigidce. A lu co -
nid(E must stand as name
of this family, as in 2d-4th
cds. of Key.
ALU'CO. (Ital. allocco or
alocho, some kind of Owl,
]>erhaps the European Barn
Owl, A. flammeus. As a
Latin word, Aluco dates
1.503, in Gaza's Aristotle;
as a genus in ornithology
it dates from Fleming,
1828. Figs. 47, 426.)
Barn Owls. To al)ove
characters add : Wings
very long, pointed, folding
beyond tail ; 1st or 2(1 pri-
mary longest, none emargi-
nate. Tail short, nearly
even or emarginate, about
i as long as wing. Tarsus
nearly twice as long as mid-
dle toe without claw, closely feathered, the plumage becoming scant and bristly below^, like
that on the nearly naked toes, and reversed in direction on the posterior aspect ; claws ex-
tremely long and acute (see fig. 47). Bill lengthened, compressed ; cere nearly as long as
rest of culmen ; nostrils oval ; no plumicorns ; eyes comparatively small, black ; ears very
large; bill light-colored; plumage flagrant, not dichromatic and of peculiarly delicate texture
as well as special pattern of coloration ; the subtriangular or somewhat cordate figure of the
facial area variable in form at the pleasure of the bird ; size medium. One North American
species or subspecies, among several which inhabit collectively most parts of the world.
Others, more distinct from the stock form, A. flammeus, are A. novce-hoUandice, and A. tene-
bricosa, both Australian ; A. castanops, Tasmanian ; A. capensis, S. African; A. Candida,
Indian. (Genus Strix of the A. 0. U. Lists, by error : see above.)
Fig. 42G. — Barn Owl
Brelim. )
' From yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping owl does to the moon complain
01 such, as wand'ring near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign." — Gray.
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS.
623
A. pratin'cola. (Lat. pratincola, meadow-inhabitiug.) American Barn Owl. Monkey-
faced Owl. Above, iucliuliug upper surfaces of wiugs and tail, tawny, fulvous, or orange-
brown, delicately clouded or marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with blackish, some-
times also with white ; such marking resolved, or tending to resolve, into 4 or 5 bars of dark
mottling on the wings and tail. Below, including lining of wings, varying from pure white
to tawny, ochrey, or fulvous, but usually paler than upper parts and dotted with small but
distinct blackish specks. Face varying from white to fulvous or purplish-brown, in some
shades as if stained with claret, usually quite dark or even black. About eyes, and border of
disc, dark brown. Thus extremely variable in tone of coloration, but the pattern more constant,
while the generic characters render the bird unmistakable. Nestlings covered with tiufFy
white down. Length 15.00-17.00 or more ; e.\tent about 44.00 ; wing 13.00-14.00 ; tail 6.00-
7.00; bill 0.95; tarsus 2.75. 9 hxrger than ^. The superior size is the chief distinction
from the Old World A. flammeus, of which I have kept it as a subspecies in all previous edi-
tions of the Key, and now accord it full rank with much misgiving, in deference to the A. 0. U.
U. S. from Atlantic to Pacific ; somewhat southerly, rarely known N. to Massachusetts, New
York, southern Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington; S- into Mexico,
West Indies and Central America ; abundant in wooded, settled, and especially maritime
regions ; resident in most of its range, but only migratory or irregular northerly ; gregarious at
times ; nests from January to May in different latitudes or localities ; broods one or two a year.
Breeds naturally in liollow trees, or holes in the ground, frequently in barn, belfry, tower, or
other building; eggs 3-11 or indefinitely numerous, ordinarily 5-7 in number, dead white, or
soiled yellowish-white, about 1.75 X 1.25, nearly equal-ended or more ovate, laid with little
or no prepai-atiou upon the debris of the hole, commonly bones and other refuse of food,
which is chiefly small quadrupeds and insects. Eggs in diS'erent stages of incubation, even
fresh eggs and young, may be found together in the nest. This is the bird which figures every
now and then in the nevA-spapers as the " monkey " or " monkey-faced " Owl. (^Strix flammea
var. americana Coues, Key, 1872, p. 201 ; Alnco flammeus pratincola of 2d-4th eds. of the
Key, after S- pratincola Bp. 183S.) The latter is the right specific name, but coupled with
the wrong generic name, in the A. 0. U. List, No. 365.
Family STRIGID^ : Other Owls.
(Fam. BUBONID.E of A. 0. U. Lists.)
All other Striges, as far as .
known, have the sternum once
or twice notched on each side be-
hind, with a manubrium in front,
and the furculum free or even
defective, being represented l>y a
pair of stylets, which do not jniu
in one bone. There is a bony
canal for jjassage of the comninu
extensor tendon of the toes. Tlie
outer ear-parts are sometimes as
higlily developed as in Aliico-
nid(C, or tliey may be ((uite small.
When large, with a reversible
iiap or operculum, the ear-parts tend to become unsymmetricil on right and left sides of the
head; and this asymmetry is often carried so far as to attcct the sluipe of the whole skull,
Via. 427. — Mobl)ii>K in owl. (From Mii-helct.)
624 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
which is thus set askew. The facial disc varies in size and perfection, being largest, most
circular, and most completely radiating from the eye as a centre in those species in which the
ear-conch is best developed. These two characters would therefore seem to go together, and
they are not correlated with presence or absence of plumicorns — an obvious but trivial differ-
ence, which carries little weight in classification. Inner toe shorter than middle, and middle
claw not pectinate. The extent of feathering of the feet varies with almost every genus. It
proves advisal)le to make the foregoing main characters the basis of a division of Strigidce into
two subfamilies, Strigince and Biihonince.
Analysis of Subfamilies and Genera.
StriginjE. Eye centric in large complete circular disc, and ear-conch larger than eye, with well-developed oper-
culum ; ear-parts more or less unsymmetrical. Strictly nocturnal.
Plumicorns absent ; cere short.
Ear-parts subsymmetrical. Large : length over 12 inches ; wing 15 or less ; tail under 10 ... . Strix
Largest : length over 20 inches ; wing IG or more ; tail over 10 . Scotiaptex
Ear-parts as3Tnmetrical. Small : length under 12 inches Nyctala
Plumicorns present ; cere longer than rest of culmen. Ear-parts asymmetrical As^o
BuBONiN*. Eye eccentric, nearer top tlian bottom of more or less incomplete disc, and ear-conch not larger than
eye, without developed operculum, symmetrical. Not strictly nocturnal.
Plumicorns present, well-developed.
Very large : length over 18 inches ; tail about § the wing Bubo
Small : length under 12 inches ; tail about § the wing Megascops
Plumicorns present, rudimentary. Very large : length over 18 inches. Wliite Nyctea
Plumicorns absent.
Tarsus full-feathered.
Tail graduated. Length over 12 inches. Hawk-like Surnia
Tail rounded. Length much under 12 inches. Arboreal Glaucidium
Tarsus naked or scant-feathered.
Length under 8 inches. Arboreal Micropallas
Length over 8 inches. Terrestrial Speo/y/o
A'SIO. (Lat. asio, a kind of horned owl.) Eared Owls. Marsh Owls. Skull and ear-
parts more or less unsymmetrical : conch of immense size, about as long as skull is high, fur-
nished with a movable operculum for its fall length. Eyes centric in perfectly developed facial
disc. Plumicorns more or less developed. Nostrils at edge of cere, which is somewhat inflated,
and longer than chord of culmen beyond it; bill rather weak. Wings about twice as long as
tail, pointed, 2d primary usually longest, only 1 or 2 primaries emarginate on inner webs.
Feet closely feathered to ends of toes. Of medium size ; our species 12.00-16.00 long. Em-
bracing about 12 species, and nearly cosmopolitan. Our Long-eared Owl is decidedly difi'er-
ent from that of Europe, Asio otus, but the Short-eared has not been satisfactorily distinguished
from the almost cosmopolitan A. accipitrimis.
Analysis of Subgenera and Species.
Plumicorns long, many-feathered {Asia proper) wilsonianus
Plumicorns short, few-feathered {Brnchyotus) accipiirinus
A. wilsonia'nus. (To A. Wilson. Figs. 56, 428.) American Long-eared OwL. Ear-
tufts conspicuous, about as long as middle toe and claw, of 8-12 feathers. First primary only
emarginate on inner web. Upper parts brownish-black, minutely mottled with grayish-white,
and variegated with the tawny of basal portions of the feathers which comes to the surface
here and there; general effect dark, quite different from the tawny streaking of A. otus of
Europe. Under parts confused blackish-brown, grayish-white and tawny; on breast marbled
in large pattern, for the rest with dusky shaft-lines throwing off dusky cross-bars (several on
each feather) on a whitish ground, and the tawny bases of the feathers showing more or less ;
feet and crissum mostly immaculate, tawny or whitish. Quills blackish -brown, regularly
STRIGIDJE: OTHER OWLS.
625
barred with mottled gray, and towards their bases witli tawny, which hitter forms a conspicu-
ous area on outer webs of several primaries. Lining of wings tawny, separated by a dusky
area from similar bases of inner webs of pri-
maries. Tail like secondaries, dusky with gray
marbled bars, and more or less tawny toward
base ; but from below presenting quite light,
with numerous firm narrow dusky bars. Facial
disc mostly tawny, framed all around in a black-
ish border speckled with wliitish, and more or
less blackened about eye; usually a whitish
superciliary line ; bristles at base of bill mixed
whitish and blackish ; plumbeous-blackish, ba-
sally tawny, edged on one side with whitish.
Bill and claws blackish ; iris yellow. Length
J4.00-16.00; extent about 39.00; wing ILOO-
12.00; tail 5.50-6.50; tarsus 1.25-1.50; chord
of whole culmen about 1.00. Less variable
than many Owls, and always easy to recognize.
Temperate N. Am., common, generally dis-
tributed, resident as a rule, irregularly migra-
tory or roving to some extent, then generally in
flocks; perfectly nocturnal, and thus screened
from casual observation, even where it is numer-
ous, but often surprised in the daytime in shady
resorts, as thick bushes along streams, canons,
caves, etc. Nesting various, in a hollow tree
or stump, rift of rock, or on the ground, but
mainly in deserted nests of other birds, as Hawks,
Crows, Magpies, or even Herons; usually con-
structed with little art, as when in a hollow or on the ground, sojnetimes better built or refitted
in l)ranches of a bush or tree, at a varying height of 10 to 40 feet. Eggs J3-7, oftener 4 or 5,
wliite, subspherical, 1 .50 to 1 .60 X 1 -30 to 1.40, laid from February to May in different latitudes,
usually found in varying stages of incubation of the same set, or with young birds in the nest
before all the eggs are hatched; incubation supposed to take about 21 days; nestlings covered
with grayish-white down. The food of this Owl is mostly small rodents ; it also eats small
birds, frogs, and insects. It is one of our handsomest species, with its trim form, showy plu-
mage, pricked-up ears, and general jaunty air; it has the trick (»f drawing itself up tall, stiff,
and slim, with close-shut feathers, like a soldier on dress parade, and again of swelling up and
fluffing out the plumage, to make itself look big and fierce.
^. accipitri'nus. (Lat. (tccijntrinus, hawk-like. Figs. 420, 430.) Short-earfd Owl.
Mak.sh Owl. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, much shorter than middle toe and claw, few- feathered.
First and second primaries einarginate on inner webs. Above, completely variegated, chiefly in
streaks, with fulvous or tawny, and dark brown ; breast much the same, but other under parts
paler ochrey, usually bleaching on belly, which is sparsely but sharply streaked (never barred)
with dark brown ; feet pale tawny or wliitisli, usually immaculate ; lining of wings interruptedly
whitish. Wing-quills varied, mostly in large jiattern, and tail pretty regularly barred (about
5 bars) with the two colors of upper ])arts. Farial area white or nearly so. but witli a large
black eye-patcli ; disc minutely speckled with fulvous and blackisii, bordered with white inter-
nally and usually having a blackish patch behind ear; radiating feathers of operculum streaked
with blackish and fulvous. Iris bright yellow ; bill an<I claws dusky-bluish; naked granular
40
Fio. 428. — Long-eared Owl.
626
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
soles yellowish. The ear-opening is extremely large, being 2.00 or more across the longest
way. Length of a $ 14.50; extent
41.00; wing 12.00; tail 6.00; tar-
sus to end of middle claw 3.50 ;
chord of culmen, cere included,
1.12; 9 averaging larger than $.
Young birds are much darker col-
ored than the adults ; the face quite
uniformly blackish, the upper parts
dark brown with broad pale buff
tips of the feathers, the lower parts
dingy grayish-buff, with few if any
markings. In any plumage it is
rather a plain, plebeian Owl, whose
appearance corresponds with its
lowly, unpretentious habits. In-
habits N. Am. at large, and most
^ other parts of the world ; migratory
with us, and sometimes seen in con-
siderable flocks, especially in marshy
places, which are its favorite hunt-
ing-grounds for the small quadru-
peds and other animals upon which
it preys. It is a great destroyer of
shrews and field-mice, deserving on
this account to be protected in the
interests of agriculture. The breed-
PiG. 429. -Short-eared Owl, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.) j^^^ ^^^^^ jg nearly Coincident with
tlie general distribution of the species in this country, but most of the birds nest in the northern
parts of the U. S. and thence within the Arc-
tic Circle, retiring from these high latitudes
in winter; the season for eggs ranges from
March in the South to July in the North, but
is mostly April and May for ordinary lati-
tudes. The nest is commonly built on the
ground, sometimes in an underground bur-
row, consisting of a little hay and feathers ;
eggs 4-7, dull white, roundish, about 1.55
X 1-25. This Owl, though a member of the
most nocturnal division of its family, is one
of those frequently abroad in the daytime,
and in dull weather may be observed quarter-
ing low over the ground in open places, on its
broad noiseless pinions, in search of its hum-
ble quarry; it is not a woodland bird, like
most of its ti'ibe, but lives in rank herbage.
STRIX. (Gr. (TTptyl, strigx, Lat. strix, a
screech-owl.) Gray Owls. Brown Owls.
Wood Owls. Skull and ear-parts more or ^'°- «o. - Short-eared Owi.
less unsymmetrical, the latter large, furnished with a moderate operculum scarcely reaching
STRIGIDM: OTHER OWLS.
627
yui^ Aiuevfe.^)
Ku». 4ai. — Uiirioil Owl
628 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— RAPTORES — STRIGES.
the whole length of the opening. Head very large, appearing as broad as the body, and per-
fectly smooth, there being no plumicorns: facial disc complete and of great extent, the com-
paratively small eyes centric in the radiating feathers. Nostril in edge of cere, which is shorter
than rest of culmen. Bill yellow ; iris dark brown or black. Tail very long, f to | as long as
wings. Wings much rounded; 5 primaries sinuate on inner webs; ]st quite short. Feather-
ing of feet variable; tarsus always feathered, but toes wholly or partly feathered, or naked.
Plumage of under parts barred on the breast at least, if not throughout. Nest in trees; eggs
few. A large genus of " earless " Owls, chietly of the northern hemisphere, of medium to
large size ; ours about 1|- feet long. North America has at least two }>erfectly distinct species;
the commonest one of these, S. nebulosa, represents the European Tawny Owl, S. stridula,
badly miscalled " Syrnium aluco " by so many writers. As shown in my article on the genus
Aluco, Strix alnco Linn. ]758, is the European Barn Owl, Aluco flammeus, belonging to the
other ftimily of Owls. Furthermore, the genus Syrnium Savig. J 809, has no standing what-
ever in ornithology, being a mere synonym of Strix in the strictest sense. Hence the A. 0. U.
is in error in using Syrnium as the name of the present genus, as I was similarly in error in
the original edition of the Key, 1872.
Analysis of Species.
Under parts barred on the breast, elsewhere streaked. Length H feet or more.
Toes fully feathered. Eastern U. S nebulosa
Toes mostly naked. Florida to Texas alleni
Under parts barred everywhere. Length under \h feet.
Toes fully feathered. Western U. S occidentalis
S. nebulo'sa. (Lat. nebulosa, clouded. Figs. 431, 432.) Barred Ow^l. Hoot Owl.
Rain Owl. American Wood Owl. Toes fully feathered, nearly or (juite t<t claws, which are
blackish; bill yellow ; iris black. Of medium size in the genus : length 18.00-20.00 ; extent
about 44.00 ; wing 12.50-13.50, rouuded ; tail 9.00-10.00, rounded. Markings of back and
breast in cross-bars, of belly in lengthwise stripes. Above, umber-brown or liver-color, every-
where barred with white or tawny, or both ; breast the same;
on belly the pattern changing abruptly t<^» heavy dusky shaft-
stripes on a white or tawny ground ; crissum the same ; feet
speckled with dusky ; wings and tail like back or rather
darker, regularly barred with gray, light brown or tawny,
some of the bars usually making white spots at their ends,
and marking of wing-coverts rather in spots than bars.
Lining of wings tawny, with some dusky spotting. Facial
i'^^i^j:):^^^^^!'^^^''*' disc set in a frame of black and white specks, with black-
ened eyelids, and obscurely watered with lighter and darker
F,u. 432. -Barred Owl, reduced. ^^^^^.^ ^^ ^.-^^^^^ around eye as a centre, the bristly feathers
about bill mixed black and white, or white at base, blackened terminally. A notably large
and somewhat impressive Owl of eastern North America, common in woodland of the U. S.,
especially southerly (except the range of its subspecies alleni), west to Colorado; not rang-
ing much north of the U. S., though occurring in some parts of the Dominion of Canada;
replaced in Western U. S. by S. occidentalis, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. It
is the commonest "hooting" Owl, the strange outbursts of midnight discord which one may
hear about the farm-house or camp-fire proceeding oftener from this species than from the
Great Horned Owl. It is strong enough to prey upon poultry, quail, rabbits and squirrels, as
well as humbler game, mostly mice, also frogs and other reptiles, insects, sometimes crustaceans
and fish ; occasionally it turns cannibal, and devours small Owls. It is thoroughly nocturnal, and
very seldom seen abroad by day, even in the thickest woods, whose umbrage is so congenial
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS. 629
to this solitary and stubborn reeluse. Nest usually in a hollow tree, sometimes a desei-ted
Hawk's or Crow's nest; eggs 2, 3, or 4, white, subspherical, about 2.00 X l-7o, laid from
February to April.
S. n. al'leni. (To J. A. Allen.) Florida Barred Owl. Like nebulosa proper, but toes
almost eutirely naked. The feathering of the tarsus stops at the roots of the toes almost as
abruptly as it does in Megascons flammeola, in comparison with M. asio, though a slight strip
of bristly feathers ruus a little way along outside of middle toe. The barring of the breast
seems to be heavier, on an average. South Atlantic and Gulf States, from S. Carolina to Texas.
Habits like those of the common Barred Owl, but nesting earlier on an average, Jan. -Mar.,
and eggs usually only 2 in number. (Probably S. georgiea Lath. 1801.)
S. n. helve'olum. (Lat. helveolus, yellowish.) Texas Barred Owl. Size of nehidosum
]u-oper; toes naked as in alleni ; coloration pallid throughout in comparison with the type
form ; legs and feet buff or whitish, with few or none of the dusky markings of the other forms.
Corpus Christi, Texas. (Bangs, Pr. N. Engl. Zool. Club, i, Mar. \i\, 1899, p. 31 ; Auk, Oct.
1899, p. 341.)
S. occidenta'lis. (Lat. occidentalis, western.) Western Barred Owl. Spotted Owl.
Xanthus Owl. Toes feathered as in S. nebulosa. Decidedly smaller than that species,
and otherwise readily distinguished. Ground-c<d()r of upper parts much the same, but the
barring broken up into spotting, for the most part ; on back and wing-coverts resulting in
irregular variegation, on head making small round white spots. Wings, tail, and facial disk
much as in nebulosa. Under parts quite diflferent, the markings being in bars everywhere,
with little difierence in pattern between the belly and the breast. The latter is closely and
regularly barred with brown and white, as in nebulosa, and if the barring is at all diflferent ou
belly, it is from separation of the white bars into pairs of spots, in any event very different in
appearance from the firm lengthwise stripes of nebulosa. The difference between the two
species in this regard is comj)arable to that between the Long- and Short-eared Owls. Tiie
lining of the wings is fully spotted with dusky on a tawny ground. The general brown color
of the bird is on tlie whole warmer than that of nebulosa. Length 16.00 or more ; wing
12.00-13.50; tail 8.00-9.00. Western U. S., southerly; has been found in Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, California (original specimen from Fort Tejou), Lower California, and
some parts of Mexico, and is probably not so rare as has been supposed. Habits as far
as known not different from those of the Barred Owl ; nest in the hollow of a tree, or built
on a branch, of small sticks, bark, hay and featheis ; eggs known to be 4 in one case, and
to be laid in April; size about 2.05 X 1.80, and shai)e thus well rounded, as usual in the
genus.
S. o. cauri'nus. (Lat. caurinus, northwestern ; caurus, the northwest wind.) NORTHERN
Spotted Owl. Merriam's Owl. Like the last, darker and richer in coloration ; dark areas
larger and darker ; white markings smaller, especially on head and back, where the spotting is
leduced to a minimum ; primaries without whitish tips, with only an indistinct pale band
mixed with a little whitish on outer side of the vanes, and faint terminal edging on some of
tlie feathers; the 3 or 4 i)ale bars toward ends of the feathers also obsolescent. Coast region
ofWashingtcm and British Columbia. New to the Key. Syrnium o. caurinum Mekuia.m,
Auk, .Ian. 1898, p. 39; A. 0. U. Suppl. List. Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 109, No. m\) a.
BU'BO. (Lat. bubo, the great horned owl or "grand duke" of Europe, B. ma.nnnis. iguarus
or bubo.) Great Horned Owls. Eagle Owls. Hoot Owls. Grand Di'kes. Skull
and ear-parts symmetrical (of same size on both sides of head), the latter simply elliptical,
non-opcrculate, not longer than the great yellow eye, whicli is eccentric in the moder.itely de-
veloped facial disc (nearer its toj) than bottom). Plumiconis highly developed. Nostrils oval,
in edge of cere, which is not inflated, nor as long as rest of culmen ; bill robust, black, not
buried in frontal bristles. Wings rather short, folding slmrt of end of tail, .'M or -1th primary
630
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — RAP TORES — STRIGES.
longest, first 2 or 3 emarginate near their ends. Tail rounded, more than i as long as wing,
its under coverts not reaching its end. Feet densely feathered to last .]\)int of toes, but claws
exposed. Of medium and very large size (some species are nearly the largest of Owls), and
variegated, usually dark, colors ; plumage not dichromatic. Embracing numerous species, of
all America and nearly all of the Old World ; only one, however, in North America, with sev-
eral ill-defined subspecies.
B. virginia'nus. (Lat. virginianus, Virginian. Fig. 43.3.) Great Horned Owl. Hoot
Owl. Cat Owl. American Grand Duke. Distinguished by large size and conspicuous ear-
tufts, our other species of similar stature
being tuftless or nearly so. Length nearly
or about 2 feet; extent 4 or 5 feet; wing
14.00-16.00 inches; tail 8.00-10.00; tarsus
2.00-2.25; culmen without cere 1.10-1.20.
9 averaging much larger than ^. Plu-
mage varying interminably, no concise de-
scription meeting all its phases. A white
collar on throat is the most constant color-
mark. On the upper parts, the under plu-
mage tawny, but so overlaid with coarse
mottling of blackish and white, that the
tawny shows chiefly on head, nape, and
scapulars; mottling chiefly transverse, re-
solving into 7 to 9 continuous or broken
bars on wings and tail. Under parts white,
indefinitely tawny-tinged, and for the most
part barred crosswise with blaclvisii, cliang-
ing on fore breast to ragged and rather
lengthwise blotches. Feathering of feet
nearly plain tawny. Ear-tufts black and
tawny; a dark mark over eye; border of
facial disc black; face white or tawny, but
the feathers mostly black-shafted. Bill and
claws black ; iris yellow ; pupil always cir-
cular ; wlien fully dilated as large as a
finger-ring, contractile to size of a pea.
Young covered at first with white down ;
Fig. 433. -Great Horned Owl. (Frou. The Ooprey.) ^^^^ plumage more uniformly tawuy and
lighter-colored than it becomes after the first moult, when the white collar and other distinc-
tive markings are assumed. This powerful bird, only yielding to the Great Gray Owl in
linear dimensions, but not in bulk of body, and inferior to none in spirit or prowess, is a common
inhabitant of North America at large, representing B. bubo of Europe. The typical or ordinary
form (atlanticus Cass.) occurs throughout Eastern N. Am., N. to Labrador, W. to the E. edge
of the Great Plains. It is non-migratory ; breeds in all winter and early spring months (some-
times in December, often in January, usually February or March), laying in hollows of trees
or rifts of rocks, occasionally on the ground, often in a bulky nest of sticks on the branches of
tall trees, then appropriating and renovating that of a Crow, large Hawk, or Eagle. Eggs
usually 2 or 3, often 4, rarely more, and 2 the most frequent number, likely to hatch ^ and
9; they are thick-shelled, granular, unglossy, colorless, subspherical, about 2.1.5 X l-*0 in
size ; duration of incubation about three weeks. The young begin to hoot when about 4
months old. If taken early enough from the nest, they may become docile and even affectionate ;
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS. 631
but captive adults generally prove intractable. This Owl preys upon birds and quadrupeds up
to the size of domestic f(jwls and rabbits, and is more destructive to poultry than any Hawk
whatever ; it often kills more than it can devour, only eating off the heads of its victims. It
is habitually abroad in the daytime, apparently not at all inconvenienced by sunlight. Runs
into the following varieties, which, however, are not as strictly geographical as the names
would indicate : —
B. V. arc'ticus. (Lat. arctieus, northern.) White Horned Owl. Very pale ccdored, fre-
quently quite whitish, and not distantly resembling the Snowy Owl, from which, however, it
is easily distinguished by the long plumicorns and other generic characters. (See Swainson's
fig. in F. B. A., pi. 30.) Boreal and alpine North Am.; such specimens occasional in north-
ern U. S. in winter, and Rocky Mt. region. This form has stood correctly in the Key since
1872; the attempt of the A. 0. U. to subdivide it into B. v. arctieus and jB. v. suharcticiis,
Lists, 1886-95, Nos. 375 h and 375 a (after Ridgw., Orn. 40th Par. 1877, p. 572) has been
abandoned (see Auk, Apr. 189(3, pp. 153-1.36, and Jan. 1897, p. 134).
B. V. paci'flcus. (Lat. pacificus, of the Pacific ocean.) Pacific Horned Owl. Very
dark colored, chiefly blackish and grayish, with little tawny, and what there is of it dull ;
facial disc quite ashy. Rather smaller than average virginianus ; but the diflference is slight.
Western N. Am., but by no means confined to the Pacific coast region. The smallest
specimens I have seen are from Lower California. Cass., 111. B. Cal., etc., July, 1854,
p. 178, and in Baird, B. N. A. 1858, p. 49; Coues, Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 202, and 2d-
4th eds. 1884-90, p. 504; ignored in A. 0. U. Lists, 1886 and 1895; admitted in Eighth
Suppl. Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 119, No. "375c"; given as "3756" in Ninth Suppl. Auk, Jan.
18il9, p. 110.
B. V. saturatiis? (Lat. saturated, sc. with color.) DusKY Horned Owl. Extremely dark-
colored with little or no tawny; facial disc sooty brown mixed with grayish-white. Size of
ordinary virginianus. Pacific coast region. Upper California to Alaska; " Labrador," and
also accredited to much of interior N. Am. Apparently a dark littoral form, in the extreme
pliase of which the tawny is extinct. RiDGW. Orn. 40th Par. 1877, p. 572; Man. 1887,
p. 263 ; A. 0. U. Lists, 1886 and 1895, No. 375 c; not separated from pacificus in 2d-4th eds.
of the Key, and prttbably not separable.
Obs. B. v. occidentalis Stone, Auk, Apr. ISOfi, p. 155, is inadmissible, being simply the common species, somewhat
lighter than usual, and insomuch tending toward B. v. arctieus; type from Mitchell Co., Iowa. See Auk, Jan. 1897,
p. 13'.'.
MEGASCOPS. (Gr. ^eyas, megas, large, and (tku)\I/, Lat. scops, a, small kind of owl; our species,
though small, are larger than the typical (Scops giu of Euroj)e. Fig. 434.) Little Horned
Owls. Screech Owls. Dukelets. Like a miniature Bubo in form (all our species under
a foot long). Skull and ear-parts symmetrical; latter small, simply elliptical, with rudimen-
tary operculum ; facial disc moderately developed ; plumicorns evident ; nostrils at edge of core,
which is not inflated, and shorter than rest of culmen. Wings rounded, but long, about twice
the lengtli of the short rounded tail, about to end of which they fold ; in our species 4th and 5th
primaries longest, 1st quite short; 3 or 4 outer primaries sinuate or emarginate on inner webs.
Tarsus feathered (in our species), but toes only partly bristly (in the M. asio group) or quite
naked (as in M. flammeola). Plumage dichromatic in some cases; i. e., some individuals of
the same species normally mottled gray, while others are reddi.»<h. the two phaj^es very distinct
when fully dcvelop(;d, but shading insensibly into each other, and entirely independent i>f age,
season, sex, or locality; the same individual may he red or gray at different times, and may ]>ass
from one phase to tlie other by aptosochromatism — that is, by alteration in tlie ]>igments of tiie
{>lumage, without loss of old or gain of new feathers (Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 38, pi. 1 ). In nornijil
jihimage, a white or wliitisli .scapular stripe ; lower parts with lengthwise l>lotchis or shaft-
632
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
lines and crosswise bars or waves of blackish or dark color; upper parts Avitli black or blackish
shaft-lines on a Unely-dappled brown or gray ground (more or less obliterated in the red
phase) ; facial disc black-bor-
dered nearly all around ; wing-
quills spotted or marbled on outer
webs, barred on inner webs. Tail
with light and dark bars. Young
covered with white down. Nest
in holes ; eggs plural. A large
and nearly cosmopolitan genus,
especially rich in tropical spe-
cies ; but only three known to
inhabit N. Am., one of them run-
ning into several local races very
ditficult to characterize satisfac-
torily. Obs. This is the genus
Scops, Savigny, 1809, Type S.
giu of Europe. Kaup, in found-
ing his subgenus Megascops, Isis,
1848, p. 765 and p. 769, clearly
intended, not to replace Scops,
but to separate from S. giu cer-
tain larger species of the same
genus, among them our S. asio,
the first one he names on p. 765,
therefore to be assumed as the
type of Mcgascops. But his intention was frustrated by the mishap that Brunnich, in
1772, had used the word Scops wrongly instead of Scopus — whether by accident or design
we shall never know. This miserable business of misusing the classic name of a certain
Owl for a certain water bird (Scopus umbretta) throws out Scops of Savigny, 1809; and as
Ephialtes Keys, and Blas. 1840, based on S. giu, is also preoccupied, having been before
used in entomology, the next name in order is Megnscops Kaup, for the whole genus Scops!
See Auk, April, 1885, p. 183, where Dr. Stejneger makes the point, from which I see no
escape, under A. O. U. canons of nomenclature.
Fig. 434. —Screech Owl, reduced. (From Dall.)
Analysis of Subgenera, Species, anil Stibspecies.
Toes bristly or partly feathered. Plumicorna conspicuous. {Megascops proper) asio
Face not fringed with filaments.
Dichromatic ; red pliase bright rusty. Eastern.
Medium in size ; wing usually between G.OO and 7.00 ; tail about 3.50. Markings of under parts coarse,
irregular, and blotchy, usually wanting on middle of belly ; of upper parts fine but irregular, without
nuchal collar. Eastern U. S. and Canada asio
Small : wing usually 5.50-G.OO ; tail about 3.00. Markings as in asio, but rather heavier. S. Atlantic
and Gulf States Jioridanus
Small : size of Jioridanus. Markings of under parts fine, regular, of upper parts coarse, but regular,
with tendency to a nuchal collar. Texas maccalli
Dichromatic : red phase rusty-brown. Northwestern.
Large : wing usually over 7.00. In the gray phase like asio, but markings of under parts finer, more
regular and continuous. Northwest coast region kennicoiti
Large: s\ze oi kennicoH i ; coloration of 6en(/(rei (monochromatic). Interior macfarlanei
Dichromatism not known to occur. Western.
Medium ; size of average asio. Markings of under parts thick, regular, continuous over the whole sur-
face ; of upper parts exactly as in usio. California beiulirei
Medium : size of average asio. Ground color ashy ; dark markings coarse and heavy. Plains aikeni
STRIGIDJ^: OTHER OWLS.
633
Medium : size of average asio. Ashy-gray above, etc. New Mexico and Arizona .... cineraceus
Large : size over average asio. Markings of all parts very light, the gray pale, with much white, espe-
cially on wings and under parts. Rocky Mts. mazwellicE
Face fringed with filaments. Mexico and Arizona trichopsis
Toes perfectly naked. Plumicorns short. (Psiloscops.) Larger. Southwestern jiammeola
Smaller. Idaho idahoensis
M. a'sio. (Lat. «.sw, a Idud of horned owl. Fig. 435.) Little Horned Owl. Screech
Owl. Mottled Owl. Gray Owl. Red Owl. American Dukelet. Of medium
size in the genus, i ?: Length 8.00-10.00; extent about 22.00; wing 0.00-7.00, usually be-
tween these numbers ; tail 8.00-3.50; 9 larger than ^ .— Gray ornormal phase, inluh $ 9:
Upper parts brownish-gray in minutely dappled pattern of lighter and darker shades, every-
where finely but irregularly streaked with black or blackish shaft-lines, usually most evident
on the crown. A conspicuous oblique scapular bar formed by white or creamy outer webs of
several scapulars, each usually touched with black at its end ; a second similar bar on outer
webs of several outer wing-coverts. Wing-quills dusky ; outer webs of primaries with several
distinct conspicuous white or buff spots; inner webs of
primaries and both webs of secondaries with numerous
alternating lighter and darker bars ; lining of wings
mostly yellowish-white. Tail like secondaries, but the
light bars mostly ragged or dissipated in marbling.
Facial disc set in a blackish frame nearly all around ;
mostly finely mottled, but lores and chin usually whit-
ish, immaculate. Taking white as ground color of the
under parts, this is coarsely and irregularly blotched and
streaked with thick sliaft-lines giving off numberless
finer curved or wavy cross-bars ; general aspect patchy ;
markings usually wanting on middle of belly. Iris
yellow; bill livid or slate-gray, pale horn-color at tip;
claws blackish. From this stage the " mottled owl "
passes by insensible degrees, through wood-brown,
hazel-brown, and tawny into the "red owl." Red or
erythrismal phase: Bright rust-red, sometimes even
bronzed ; most of the special markings dissipated or
ab.sorbed in red, continuous and uniform above, show-
ing only traces if any of black shaft-.'^tripes ; below,
black stripes and blotches usually preserved, and red
also mixed with much white. The dark rim of the disc,
and white scapular stripes, are u.sually preserved. The
two phases are distinct from the first feathering, which,
in the normal ))hase, is almost everywhere closely and regularly barred or waved crosswise with
dark gray and pale gray or whitish. Nestlings are covered with white down. Eastern U. S.
and Canada (except the range of M. a. floridamis), W. to the Great Plains, on confines of its
range sliaiiing into the several varieties noted beyond ; resident, and on the whole the most
abundant Owl, breeding about buildings as well as in hfdlow trees or stumps, and feedinir on
small tiuadrupeds, as mice and shrews, insects and less frequently small birds and reptiles ;
nt'st a slight accuuuilation of rubbish in tlie hollow .selected for a residence, which is often a
Woodpecker's hole; eggs ordinarily 5 or (J, but fmiu 4 to 7, 8, or 9, white, subspherical, 1.30
to 1.40 X 1-15 to 1.20, laid from the latter half of March to early in May, according to lati-
tude. This interesting little Owl, of the quaint and curious cries, so persistent in utterini^ its
doleful ditty, is the best known and most familiar of its uncanny tribe; it belongs to the group
Fig. Voi^. — Screech Owl, Gray Plumage.
634 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —RAPTORES— STRIGES.
which is only semi-nocturiial, and can see quite well by day, but seldom flies abroad except at
night. It is easily tamed, and makes an amusing pet.
M. a. florida'nus. (Lat of Florida.) Florida Screech Owl. A small southern form ;
wing 5. .50-6.00; tail about 3.00. Coloration as in asio, but heavier: a rich red phase fre-
quent if not the usual one. In its full development the rusty makes quite firm crossbars on
the under parts, which is not the rule in asio, though very evident in specimens of asio from
southern Illinois, for example, where the red is by far the most frequent plumage. In the
"gray" phase, rather brown than gray, sometimes quite umber-brown, the feet dark brown,
heavily barred with dusky. South Atlantic and Gulf States, chiefly coastwise; best marked in
Florida, thence fading insensibly into asio, both in size and color.
M. a. kennicot'ti. (To Robert Kennicott.) Kexnicott's Screech Owl. The large
dark northwest coast form. Length about 11.00; wing usually 7.00-7 .50, but grading down
in some cases below 7.00; tail about 4.00. In gray phase, similar to asio proper, and still more
so to bendirei, the upper parts in fact indistinguishable, but markings below finer, more regular
and continuous over the whole surface than in asio ; in " red " phase dusky umber-brown, quite
unlike the bright rust color of asio. This state was long supposed to be the only one, and is
characteristic of the bird which occurs coastwise from Oregon to Sitka, shading southward into
bendirei, and eastward into macfarlanei of the interior. But the dichromatism of kennicotti is
established by means of the form called satnratits by Brewster, Auk, April, 1891, p. 141,
which proves to be inseparable, and thus substantiates the view maintained in the Key, 2d-4th
eds. 1884-90: see Auk, Jan. 1894, p. 49.
M. a. macfarlanei. (To Robert Macfarlane of the Hudson's Bay Co., in former years an
energetic collector of birds in British America, in association witli Kennicott.) Macfarlane's
Screech Owl. Size of kennicotti, with the coloration of bendirei. Northwestern U. S., m
the interior, Montana to Oregon and Washington E. of the Cascade range, thence N. in Brit-
ish Columbia. This is simply the connecting link between kennicotti and bendirei, covered
by my description of the former in previous editions of the Key, later named and recognized
by the A. 0. U. Brew.ster, Auk, Apr. 1891, p. 140, described from Fort Walla Walla,
Wash., and Hellgate (Missoula), Mont. A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 3737*.
M. a. bend'irei. (To Capt. Chas. Bendire, U. S. A.) CALIFORNIA Screech Owl. Size
of asio, and extremely like it, differing chiefly in finer, more numerous and continuous cross-
bars of under parts, which cross middle of belly as elsewhere ; the shaft-stripes also appear less
blotchy. It is thus quite like the gray phase of kennicotti, and indistinguishable from macfar-
lanei in color, but averaging smaller than either. No rich "red" jjhase has been observed, but
specimens run from the normal gray into more brownish shades. The plumicorns are said to
be shorter. Coast region of California, common. I have gone carefully over a large series,
and appreciate the points made by Mr. Brewster and Mr. Ridgway. If these fine shades are
to be recognized by name, tlie present seems entitled to be ranked with the rest.
M. a. niax-wel'liae. (To Mrs. M. A. Maxwell, of Boulder, Col., a noted huntress and taxi-
dermist.) Rocky Mountain Screech Owl. Size averaging over that of asio; wing up to
7. .50; tail up to 4.00. No red phase observed; but, on the contrary, the whole plumage very
pale, almost as if bleached, the difference evident in nestlings even. Upper parts paler
gray, with reduced black lines; lower whiter with reduced dark shaft-lines and cross-bars;
the scapular bar very conspicuous ; much white on wing-coverts ; white spots on outer webs
of several primaries running into continuous areas only indented with small dark spaces. An
alpine form approaching kennicotti and especially macfarlanei in size, but as much lighter-
c(dored as kennicotti is darker than normal asio. Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and
Montana.
M. a. ai'keni. (To Chas. E. Aiken, of Colorado Springs, Col.) Aiken's Screech Owl.
Size of average asio (9 : wing 6.56; tail 3.80; tarsus 1.37; bill from nostril 0.47). No red
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS. 635
phase known. " Ground color more ashy ; the dark markings coarser, and more numerous
and conspicuous, than in any other North American member of the genus;" resembling M.
aspersus of Mexico. El Paso Co., Colorado, in the plains {maxwellice in the alpine region).
Brewster, Auk, Apr. 1891, p. 139; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 373*7.
M. a. maccal'li. (To Col. Geo. A. McCall.) Texas Sckeech Owl. A small southern
form; size oi floridanus; gray and red phases, as in asio proper. Very similar to asio; in
gray phase, markings of under parts finer, firmer, more regular and continuous; shaft-lines
strict, not blotchy ; cross-lines sharj) ; stripes of upper parts coarse, but regular, and nape with
a tendency to present a light nuchal collar. Texas and southward. Scops viecallii Cass. B.
Cal. and Tex., July, 1854, p. 180, and in Baird, B. N. A. 1858, p. 52; ed. 1859, p. 52,
pi. 39; Baird, U. S. Mex. B. Surv. 1859, pi. 1. S. asio var. maccallii CouES, Key, 1st ed.
1872, p. 203, here first reduced to a subspecies ; CouES, B. N. W- 1874, p. 303. S. asio
maccalli Coues, Key, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 506. Megascops asio maccalli Stej. Auk,
Apr. 1885, p. 184. M. a. mccallii A. 0. U. List, 1st ed. 1886, No. 373 6; A. 0. U. Suppl.
List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 109. '! Scoj}S asio var. enano Lawr. MS., Riogw. in B. B. and R.,
Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 48; Coues, B. N. W. 1874, p. 304. 1 Scops asio, subsp. y, enano
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii, 1875, p. 118. Megascops asio trichopsis Ridgw. Auk, Oct.
1895, p. 389, by error (not trichopsis of Wagler); A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 373 6, by
error.
M. a. cinera'ceus. (Lat. cinerexs, ashy.) Mexican Screech Owl. Described by Ridg-
way as having the bars of the lower surface fine, closer than in asio, and much more uniformly
distributed ; general aspect paler than in asio, with much finer vermiculations. Later described
by Ridgway as "nearly pure ashy-gray above, the usually broad black mesial streaks in con-
spicuous contrast ; blackish bars on lower parts very numerous, narrow ; black border to face
without admixture of brown, and black spots on breast usually without distinct brown exterior
suffusion; length about 6.50-8.00; wing 6.10-7.00 ; tail 3.10-3.70." Lower California, Ari-
zona, New Mexico, and southward in western Mexico. Scops asio maccalli Ridgw. in B. B.
and R. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 49 and p. 52, by error. Scops asio subsp. 8, trichopsis
Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii, p. 119, excl. syn. Scops trichopsis Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat.
Mus. 1878, p. 114, by error. Queried as Scops trichopsis f Coues, Key, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90,
p. 506. Megascops trichopsis Stej. Auk. Apr. 1885, p. 184, by error. Megascops asio tri-
chopsis Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, p. 355; A. 0. U. List, 1st ed. 1886, No. 373/;
Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 261 — all in error. Megascops asio cineraceus Ridgw. Auk, Oct. 1895,
p. 390 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 373/. The status of this form is dubious ; but as I
suspected in 1884, it is not Scops trichojysis of Wagler.
M. trichop'sis. (Gr. 6pi$, thrix, gen. rpixos, trichos, hair; o\//'tj, opsis, aspect.) Wagler's
Owl. Spotted Screech Owl of Brewster. Distinct from any of the foregoing to wliich
the name has been misapplied. Adult 9^ "Sides of head conspicuously fringed with black
bristles, longest on auriculars and superciliary rufifs ; tarsi densely feathered on all sides to the
toes, the latter sparsely feathered above ; throat and sides of neck pale rusty chestnut ; re-
mainder of jdumage coaisely spotted and barred almost everywhere with dull black " (Brewster).
A red phase. Chihuahua and some other .-states of Mexico, S(jutli to Guatemala. Huachuca Mts.
of Arizona. Length of the Chihuahua type 7.50; extent 16.25; wing 5.66; tail 2.89; tarsus
1.17; middle toe 0-67 ; cuhneu from nostril 0.40; depth of bill 0 41; longest feathers of ear-
tufts 1.00; Huachuca specimens smaller; wing about 5.25, etc. The fringing filaments of the
face give this species an unmistakable aspect and the name iriclwpsis: it was unknown to U. S.
ornithologists till described as aspersus by Brew.stek. S. trichopsis Wagler, Isis, 1832,
p. 276. Megascops trichopsis Kaup, Trans. Zonl. Soc. Lond. iv, 18(52, p. 227; A. O. U.
Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 18!»9, ]i. 109, No. 373. 1. Megascops aspersus Brewst. Auk, Jan.
1888, p. 87; Auk, Oct. 1891, p. 400, pi. 3, upper tig.; Auk, Apr. 1898. p. 186. Also figured
636 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. —RAPTORES — STRIGES.
ia Biol. Centr. Amer. Aves, iii, Nov. 1897, p. 16. The slight feathering of the toes iudicates
au approach to the following section of the genus.
(Subgenus Psiloscops.)
M. (P.) flamme'ola. (hn.t. flammeola, here signifying a little reddish thing.) Flammulated
Screech Owl. A small species, with much the general aspect of an uugrown asio; but sub-
generically distinct from any form of asio. The close feathering of the tarsus stops abruptly at
bases of toes, which are naked, and the plumicorns are quite short (afibrding characters of sub-
genus Psiloscojjs). Length 6.50-7.00; wing 5.25-5.50; tail 2.75; tarsus 0.90; culmen, with-
out cere, 0.35; middle toe, without claw, 0.55. Adult ^ 9- Facial disc, sometimes whole
head, rusty-rufous, or light chestnut, speckled with black, on top of head also with white, tend-
ing to form a superciliary stripe. Ground of under parts white, but heavily overlaid with shaft-
stripes or blotches of black giving oif irregular cross- waves, on the breast tinged with rusty-rufous
here and there ; tarsi white, speckled with dusky. Upper parts minutely dappled with dark
brown and hoary-gray, and with ragged dark shaft-stripes ; a conspicuous whitish or tawny and
white scapular bar, as in asio. Tail like back, but with numerous narrow and ragged cross-
bars of pale rusty or whitish. Wing-quills " bitten in" on outer webs with white or buff, con-
spicuously so on several primaries, their inner webs with regular but narrow, distant and weak
bars, strengthening, however, toward bases of secondaries. Young ])irds, like those of asio,
tend to a uniform cross-barring of the whole plumage, but especially of the under parts, with
light and dark ; top of head finely vermiculated in this manner ; chestnut first appears on ear-
coverts and about eyes. The species is dichromatic, and in the red phase parts which are brown
or gray in the other phase are rich buff or orange-rufous ; but the peculiar pattern of coloration
persists, and in any color-variation this interesting little scops, only about as large as a Glait-
cidium, is unmistakable. This is our nearest representative of the European "petit due" or
" dukelet," commonly called ScojJS giu. From the highlands of Guatemala and Mexico it ex-
tends northward to the mountains of Colorado, and in California to Fort Crook ; resident, breed-
ing up to 10,000 feet, in Woodpeckers' holes in trees, May and June; eggs 3-4, 1.15 X 0.95.
M. f. idahoen'sis. (Lat. of Idaho.) DwARF ScREECH OwL. Like the last, but still
smaller ; wing about 5.00. Coloration paler, especially on the under parts, where the ground
is white, with fine and distant dark vermiculation, and the heavier lengthwise black markings
are mainly restricted to a single series on each side ; chin white ; facial disc bright tawny
ochraceous, with much less conspicuous dark markings than in flammeola. Upper parts
nearly as in the last. Type specimen adult $ from Ketchum, Alturus Co., Idah<j, Sept. 22,
1890. Idaho and eastern Washington. If the chai'acters hold true, when specimens enough
shall have been examined, it will rank as a good species. Merriam, North American Fauna,
No. 5, July, 1891, p. 96, pi. 1; Auk, Api\ 1892, p. 169, pi. 2; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895,
No. 374 a.
SCOTIAP'TEX. (Gr. a-Korla, skotia, darkness, gloom; rest of word uncertain, probably per-
verted from ptynx, Gr. Trrvy^, x>tugx, the eagle-owl. If so, the correct form of the word would
be Scotioptgnx, and its grammatical gender feminine.) Great Gray Owls. Lapp Owls.
General characters of Strix proper (from which not separated till the 4th ed. of the Key, p. 904,
1890.) Size very great ; but the apparent dimensions are in part due to the remarkably copi-
ous lax plumage, the bird being notably small-bodied in comparison with its linear measure-
ments; length 2 feet or more. Coloration diffuse, of blended brown, gray, and whitish, the
dark markings in excess of the light ones, and forming streaks lengthwise on the breast, but
cross-bars on the flanks. Bill and feet small, the former almost buried in the facial disk, the
latter densely clothed with shaggy feathers ; eyes also small, for an Owl, with yellow irides.
Six primaries emarginate. One species, of circumpolar distribution. (Scotiaptex Swains.
Class B, ii, 1837, p. 217, usually considered a synonym of ^' Si/rnium," i. e. of Strix proper.)
STRIGIDuE: OTHER OWLS. 637
S. cine'rea. (Lat. cinerea, asliy.) Great Gray Owl. Spectral Owl. Feet completely
feathered to claws; bill auJ eyes yellow; 6 primaries cut on inner webs. Entire upper parts
dark brown, mottled with grayish-white in confused and intricate pattern, reducible in general
to dissipation of bars. Wings and tail similar, broken-barred with grayish-white marblino-.
Under parts of the same dark brown and pale gray, the pattern in streaks on breast, in cross-
bars on belly and flanks, in spots on feet. The great facial disc watered with dark hwwn and
light gray in regular rings concentric with eacli eye, the outermost ring dark brown and stronger
than the rest, bounded below with a ragged white collar. Length 2 feet or more; extent about
5 feet; wing 16 UO-18.00 inches; tail 11.00-12.50; culmen 1.00 without cere. An immense
Owl, one of the largest of all, inhabiting Northern N. Am., straying irregularly south into the
U. S. in winter, to southern New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Dakota,
Montana, Wyoming, Idalio, Oregon, and nortliern California ; common in wooded regions of
the fur countries and Alaska, but not frequenting the barren grounds. Nest in trees, of sticks,
mosses, and feathers; eggs 2, 3, or 4, not equal-ended and rather small for the bird's appar-
ent dimensions, about 2.1.5 X 1-70, laid from April to July. Like others of the genus it
is a wood Owl ; while its prowess enables it to prey upon creatures up to the size of Grouse
and Hares.
S. e. lappo'nica. (Lat. Z«^;j;oHicrt, of Lapland.) Lapp OwL. Specimens from Alaska, lighter
colored than typical cinerea, and with a basal whitish patch on inner webs of the remiges, have
been referred to the European rather than the American variety, the Norton Sound examples
being regarded as Old World stragglers of Strix lapponica Retzius, Fu. Suecica, 1800, p. 79;
Scotiaptex einereum Icqjponicum Kidgw. Man. 1887, p. 2G0; Scotiaptcx cinerea lapponica
CouES, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895 [No. ;}70 «.].
NYC'TAIiA. (Gr. vvKToKoi, nuktalos, sleepy.) Saw-whet Owls. Skull and ear-parts
highly unsymmetrical, latter of great size, fully operculate. Head very large (as in Strix),
without pluinicorns ; facial disc complete, with centric eye. Nostril at edge of cere, which is
inflated or not. Tail from ^ to § as long as wing, rounded. Third and 4th primaries longest ;
1st quite short; 2 or 3 emarginate on inner webs. Feet tliickly and closely featliered to claws.
In this interesting genus the ear-parts reach extreme asymmetry, the whole skull seeming mis-
shapen. Two species are known, both of small size ; one of circumpolar distribution, with a
subspecies peculiar to North America, the other, American. They are notable for the unusual
degree of diflFerence between old and young ; and our species are readily distinguished by stronger
characters than are ordinarily found between congeneric owls. Eyes yellow in both ; bill yel-
lowish in one, black in the other. Adults umber or chocolate-brown above, spotted with
white, below white, striped with brown. Young more uniformly brown, with plain dark face
and white eyebrows. Nestlings covered with sooty down ; eggs numerous. Nest in trees ;
habits strictly nocturnal.
Analysis of Species.
Larger : wing about 7.00 ; tail 4.50. Bill yellow ; cere not tumid ; nostrils presenting laterally, and obliquely oval.
Arctic tengmalmi richardsoni
Smaller ; wing 5.50 ; tail 2.G7. Bill black ; cere tumid ; nostrils presenting anteriorly, and about circular. U. S.
acadica
N. teng'iiialmi rich'ardsoni. (To P. G. Tengmalm and J. Richardson. Fig. 4.%.) Arctic
American Saw-whet Owl. Richardson's Owl. Adult : l'p])er parts, indudiui: wings
and tail, uniform choc(tlate-brown, spotted with white ; on top of head the spots small and ))ro-
fuse, on nape larger and blended into a nuchal collar, on back and wing-coverts large and sparse
but tending to form a scapular bar, on wing-quills and tail-feathers in pairs, at opposite edges
of the webs, on inner webs larger, more like bars, and more or less run together, esj)ecially on
inner secondaries. Under i)arts white, tliickly and confusedly streakeil lengthwise witli color
of back. Facial disc mostly white, I)nt with bl:icki.'<h eyelids an«i loral spot, set in a frame of
638
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES— STRIGES.
dark browu speckled with white. The general tone of the brown is oftenest ruddy, nearly as
in acadica, but sometimes dark and pure. Length 10.00-12.00 ; extent 24.00 ; wing 7.00 ; tail
4.50; tarsus 1.00; middle toe without claw 0.G7 ; culinen without cere 0.60. Young: Upper
parts plain brown, lacking the white spots of the adults, except on the wings and tail; f<\cial
area dark, unmarked, except by a white superciliary streak; lower parts plain brownish, fad-
ing posteriorly into buff, unmarked ; difference from the adult thus as in acadica. Distin-
guished from the European conspecies (fig. 436) by its darker coloration, ochrey feet spotted
with brown instead of being nearly immaculate white, and more heavily streaked under tail-
coverts; the difference in coloration from tengmalmi proper being thus closely correspondent
with that between the American and European Hawk Owls. This fine species inhabits North-
ern N. Am., being seldom seen in the U. S., where only known in winter and not farther south
than New England, Wisconsin, northern Ohio, Colorado, and Oregon, though it is possibly
resident in northern Maine, like the Hawk Owl; breeding range from just beyond our N.
border northward to the limit of trees. The nest is in a tree, usually in a hole, sometimes
among the branches ; eggs 2 to 6 or 7 in number ; size 1.20 X 1-05, thus very round ; laid from
late in April to early in June. The bird feeds mostly upon very small mammals and insects.
N. aca'dica. (Lat. acadica, of Acadia.) Acadian Owl. Saw-whet Owl. White-
fronted Owl. Kirtland's Owl. Adult : Upper parts, including wings and tail, very
similar to those of the last species, but usually
ruddier brown, the spotting less extensive, the
marks on top of head pencilled in delicate shaft-
lines instead of round spots, those of wings and
tail exactly as in richardsoni. Under parts white,
diffusely streaked or dappled with a peculiar light
brown, almost pinkish-brown. Feet immaculate
whitish, tinged with buff. Facial disc mostly
white, but blackened immediately about eye and
on loral bristles, and pencilled with dusky on
auriculars ; set in a frame of color of back, touched
with white points behind ear ; this frame distinct
on throat, where it separates white of the disc from
a white jugular (H)llar, before the pectoral streaks
begin. Bill black ; claws dark ; eyes yellow.
Y(nmg quite different (iV. albifrons) : Above,
ruddy chocolate-brown, without any spots ; wings
and tail more fnscous brown, marked substantially
as in the adults. Below, color of back extending
over all fore parts, the rest brownish-yellow ; no
streaks whatever. Facial disc sooty-brown, with
whitish eyebrow ; some white touches on the rim behind ear curving forward to chin. Bill
black. Length 7.50-8.00 ; extent 17.00-18.00 ; wing 5.25-5.75 ; tail 2.60-2.90 ; tarsus 0.75 ;
bill without cere 0.50 ; middle toe without claw 0.60. This curious little Owl, the most
diminutive species found in Eastern N. Am., inhabits the U. S. from Atlantic to Pacific, goes
N. to lat. 52° in British Am., and S. into Mexico. Though common and generally distributed,
it is not very well known, as it is sliy and retiring, perfectly nocturnal in habits, and does not
often come under casual observation ; in regions E. of the Mississippi Valley it is most fre-
quently found in the N. half of the U. S., but in the Rocky Mts. ranges throughout; it is a
wood Owl, seldom if ever occurring in open country. It is chiefly noted for its shrill notes,
which, being likened to filing a saw, have occasioned its name. The nest is usually made in
the hollow of a tree or stump, as a Woodpecker's or squirrel's hole, but sometimes the bird has
Fig. 430. — Tengmalm's European Saw-wiiet Owl
very near richardsoni. ^ uat. size. (From Brehin.)
SriUGID^E: OTHER OWLS.
639
occupied artificial retreats set up for its accommodation, like the Purple Martin ; the eggs are
3-6 or 7 in number, white, subglobular, about 1.18 X 1.00; the largest ones about equal those
of the preceding species in length, but are both relatively and absolutely narrower. They are
laid mostly in April, but from late in March to early in June.
NYC'TEA. (Gr. i/uKTeur, wwAiiCMS, Lat. wi/cfeMS, nocturnal.) Snow Owls. Much the same
generic characters as Bubo, but plumicorns rudimentary, generally considered wanting; facial
disc quite incomplete, eyes not centric to it ; bill nearly buried in frontal feathers ; feet densely
clothed in long shaggy feathers which even hide claws ; 4 outer quills emarginate on inner
webs; under tail-coverts reaching end of tail, which is rounded, and rather more than \ as long
as wiui?. One circumpolar species of great size, and mostly white color; young covered with
sooty down ; nest on ground ; eggs many.
N. uyc'tea. (Fig. 437.) Great White Owl. Snowy Owl. Ermine Owl. Wapa-
CUTHU. Harfang. Pure wliite, spotted and barred with brownish-black markings, wholly
indeterminate in size and number;
but entirely white specimens are
very rare. There is often more
blackish th;in white ; in darkest
birds, the markings tend to bar
the plumage with rovrs of spots,
such pattern specially evident on
wings and tail. A common aver-
age plumage is spotted over all
upper parts, broken-barred on
quills and tail-feathers, regularly
barred on under parts, with wliite
face and paws. The face, throat,
and feet are usually whitest. Bill
and claws black ; iris yellow.
^ nearly or about two feet long ;
extent 4.50-5.00 feet ; wing IG.OO-
18.00 inches; tail 9.00-10.00; cul-
men 1 .00 without cere ; tarsus 2.00 :
middle toe without claw 1.25. 9
larger, often over two feet long ;
wing up to 19.00, etc. She is
also as a rule darker colored than
he is ; our very large heavily
blackened specimens are mostly
of the "'fair" sex. This remark-
able Owl, conspicuous in size and color, abounds in boreal regions of both Iiemisphores, far
within tlie Arctic Circle, as near tlie North Pole even as any explorers have gone. It is
capable of eniiuring the rigors of six month.*;' niiihts under polar stars, and only comes south-
ward irregularly in winter, sometimes raiding in large numbers. "With us, it is of every
winter occurrence in the Northern and Middle States, sometimes pushing its way even to
the Carolinas and Texas ; there being no part of the U. S. where it may not appear at that
season. It is far from being exclusively nocturnal, but hunts abroad in the daytime as
readily as any Ilawk, with eyes undimmed by the ghire of the sun from boundless slieets ttf
snow, so dazzling and painful to human vision. It jireys upon hares, spermopliiles and smaller
mammals, especially lemmings and voles, wiiich swarm in the sphagnum »{ hyj)erboroan tun-
dras or barren grounds, upnu Ptannii,Mn, Uiicks and smaller birds, .nnl often proves it.^elf as
Fio. 437. — Siiowv Owl.
640 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTOR ES — STRIGES.
good a fisherman as it is bold a fowler. It has never been ascertained to breed in the U. S.,
though it may have done so in Maine, as it certainly does a little i'arther north in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Manitoba, and thence N. to the Arctic
Ocean. The nest is built upon the ground or rocks, of mosses lined with feathers ; the eggs
are 3 to 10, usually 5, 6 or 7, laid at intervals (as is the case with various other Owls), so that
the nest may contain fresh and incubated eggs and young birds at once ; they are lustreless,
roughly granular, even faintly corrugated lengthwise, equal-ended, but not much rounded,
being about 2.25 X 1-75. Only one clutch is deposited annually, mostly in May or June.
{Nyctea nivea and N. scanfZmca of authors, as of previous editions of the Key; but our rules
require us now to use the inelegant and displeasing tautonym, Nyctea nyctea.)
SUR'NIA. (Etymology of Siirnia or Syrniiim, unknown. There is no recognized classic
Greek or Latin word from which the name can be derived, but I find uvpviov, sttrnion, cited by
Brisson as a modern Greek name of Strix stridula, and this is obviously the source of both Stir-
nia and Syrnium. The former dates in systematic zoology from Dumeril, Zool. Anal. 1806,
p. 34.) Hawk Owls. Skull and ear-parts much as in Bubo or Nyctea ; latter non-operculate,
the opening of small size ; facial disc very little developed, and eyes not centric to it ; no plunii-
corns. Wings folding far short of end of tail ; 3d primary longest; first 4 emarginate on inner
webs. Tail remarkably long, little shorter than wing, much graduated, with lanceolate
feathers. Feet thickly and completely feathered to the claws ; tarsus scarcely or not longer
than middle toe. Of medium size, with a peculiarly neat and dressy appearance for an Owl,
the whole plumage being more strict than in other members of this family. There is but
one species, common to northern portions of both hemispheres, as Hawk-like in habits as
in mien.
S. u'lula. (Lat. ulula, a kind of Owl, so called from its outcry; ululare, to cry out, howl, as
with pain or grief. As the name of an Owl, the word goes back in ornithology to Gesner, 1555,
and still farther to Pliny. Use as a technical name, both generic and specific, is of course very
recent : Strix ulula Linn. 1758, is the European Hawk Owl ; Ulula Cuv. 1817, is a genus of
Owls, which has been variously used. Ulula as a Latin word is obviously onomatopoetic; com-
pare Gr. dXaXd or dXaXij, alala or alale, an outcry, dXaXd^cu, alalazo, I cry out ; also oXoXvyij,
ololuge, an outcry; oXoXuywv, ololugon, the croaking of frogs; oXoXv^w, ololuzo, I call on the
gods ; compare also our interjection hallelujah ! which we get from the Hebrew ; Sanskrit
uliikas, an owl; English owl, owlet, howlet, howl, halloo, hullo, hullabaloo, etc.) European
Hawk Owl. Lighter in color than the American caparoch next described ; the white mark-
ings more prominent on the crown, cervix and scapulars ; lighter brown, narrower bars on the
under parts; dark markings of the disc rather brown than blackish. Size the same. N. Eu-
rope and Asia; similar specimens from St. Michael's, Alaska. (^S. funerea ulula of 2d-4th
eds. of the Key: see next article.)
S. u. cap'aroch. The word caparoch, ajiplied to the American Hawk Owl, as Strix caparoch,
by P. L. S. Ml'ller, in his Suppl. to Lixn. Syst. Nat. 177G, p. 09 (after Bodd, Kortb. 1772,
p. 112), is the same as caparacoch or coparacoch, given in Brisson, Orn. 1700, 1, p. 520, as the
name applied by the natives of Hudson's Bay to this very bird, the Strix Freti Hudsonis of
Brisson (the Little Hawk Owl of Edwards, ii, pi. 62), and also the Strix canadensis
Briss. i, p. 518, pi. 37, fig. 2; which latter is one of the two bases of Strix funerea Linn.
S. N. I. ed. 12, 1766, p. 133, No. 11. Our bird has commonly been called Surnia funerea (Linn.
1760), as in the 2d-4th eds. of the Key, 1884-90, p. 511 ; but unluckily Linnaeus mixed it up
with the European one, which he had called Strix funerea in his Fn. Suec. 2d ed. 1761, p. 75;
and furthermore, his S. funerea of the 10th ed. 1758, p. 93, No. 7, is based solely on the Eu-
ropean bird (Fn. Suec. 1st ed. 1746, p. 51). Thus it appears that ulula Linn. 1758 and 1766,
belonging exclusively to the European form ; funerea Linn. 1758, exclusively European ; and
funerea Linn. 1766, European and American, ai'e none of them available for our bird : and
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS.
641
Fio. I.SS. — Anicrii-nii M.iwk Dwl.
41
642
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
caparoch Miill. 1776, comes next iu order for the latter. See Auk, Oct. 1884, p. 362. Ataother
name for our bird is Strix hudsonia Gm. 1788, obviously based on Edwards, as above; this is
the origin of Surnia ulula var. hitdsonica Coues, Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 205. Figs. 438, 439.)
American Hawk Owl. Canadian or Hudsonian Owl. Day Owl. Caparoch. Bill
and eyes yellow ; claws brownish-black.
Upper parts bistre-brown, darkest and
almost blackish on head, where profusely
spotted with small round w^hite marks,
to which succeeds a nuchal interval less
spotted or free from spots, then an area
of larger and lengthened spots ; scapu-
lars profusely spotted with white in
large pattern, forming a scapular bar as
in Megascops ; back and wing-coverts
more or less spotted Avith white also ;
primaries and secondaries with white
spots in pairs on opposite edges of the
feathers. Tail broken-barred with white
or pale gray, usually narrowly and dis-
tinctly, on one or both webs, and tipped
with the same ; but there is great indi-
vidual variation in this respect, as may
also be said of the amount and charac-
ter of the spotting of the whole upper
parts. Under parts from breast back-
ward, including crissuin, closely and
regularly cross-barred with rich reddish-
brown, or even reddish-black, upon a
white ground, the alternating bars of
color usually of about equal widths — if anything, the white the broadest.
Fig 439 — Hawk Owl, reduced (Sheppard del. Nichols sc )
The lining of the
wings shares the same character, but is more spotty ; the paws are mottled with brown and
whitish, in different pattern. On the breast the regular barring gives way, the tendency being
to form a dark pectoral band on a white or spotted ground, but this disposition is seldom per-
fected. Facial disc mostly whitish, bounded by a conspicuous blackish crescent behind ear.
When the dark nuchal collar is perfected, a second bar curves down behind the first on side
of neck, separated by a whitish interval ; edges of eyelids, many of the loral bristles, a line
just in front of eye, and a chin-spot, are black or dusky ; the lower part of disc below ears
has also dusky streaks. Exposed part of bill bright yellow, but most of that hidden by bris-
tles is of a dark livid color. However variable in detail, the markings of this species are
unmistakable; those about the head are better defined than in most Owls, and quite peculiar.
Length 15.00 or more; extent 33.00 ; wing about 9.00 ; tail about 7.00 ; tarsus, or middle toe
without claw, 1.00 or less; culmen without cere 0.75. A handsome and spirited Owl, abun-
dant in northern portions of N. Am., S. into northern U. S. in winter, frequently and regularly ;
is possibly resident in Maine and in the mountains of Montana and Idaho ; also accredited to
Great Britain, on the strength of the dark coloration of some British specimens. Like the
Snowy Owl, it endures the rigors of Arctic winters. Nest usually in trees, either in a natural
hollow or among the thick branches of a conifer, sometimes on rocks or stumps, of sticks,
mosses, grasses, and feathers; eggs 3-7, April, May, about 1.55 X L25, white. The food
of this bird is chiefly field-mice, lemmings, and other small rodents, hawked for in broad day-
light, this owl being the least nocturnal of its tribe.
STRIGID.^: OTHER OWLS. 643
GLAUCI'DIUM. (Gr. yXavKibiov, glaukidion, dimin. of yXamos or yXavKos, glankos, gleam-
iii<r or glaring, as an Owl's eyes are; hence yXav^, glnux, au Owl. Cf. the well-known epithet,
yXavKcoTTis 'AdrjVTj, (jlaucopis Athene, gleaming-eyed Athena, Pallas, or Minerva, goddess of war
and wisdom, to whom the y\av^ was sacred.) Gnome Owls. Sparrow Owls. Pygmy
Owls. Size very small. Head perfectly smooth ; no plumicorus ; ear-parts small, non-
operculate ; facial disc very incomplete ; eye not centric. Nostrils circular, opening in the
tumid cere; bill robust. Tarsus fully and closely feathered, but toes only bristly for the most
part. Wings short and much rounded; 4th primary longest, 1st quite short, 3 outer ones
emargiuate, next 1 or 2 sinuate. Tail long, about f as long as wing, even or nearly so.
Claws strong, much curved. A large genus of very small Owls, mostly of tropical countries.
The numerous species, chiefly of warm parts of America, are in dire confusion, but those known
to inhabit North America are now well determined. The plumage of many or most species is
dichromatic, as in Scops, there being a red and a gray phase independently of age, season, or
sex; but the red is not known to occur in our G. gnoma. The upper parts are marked with
spots or lines ; bars, or rows of spots, cross wings and tail ; under parts streaked ; a cervical
collar. Notwithstanding their slight stature, the Gnome Owls are bold and predaceous, some-
times attacking birds quite as large as themselves. They are not specially nocturnal. The
eggs are laid in holes in trees. «
Analysis of Species.
Markings of upper parts in dots and round spots. Tail dark brown, with rows of white spots gnoma
Markings of upper parts in sharp lines. Tail reddish, with dark brown bars phaloenoides
G. gno'ina. (Lat. gnoma, a spirit of the mines.) Gnome Owl. Pygmy Owl. Adult $ ^ :
Tail concolor with back, and markings of upper parts, as well as those crossing wings and
tail, in form of dots or round spots, not lines or bars. Upper parts one shade of dark brown,
everywhere dotted with small circular spots of white; a collar of mixed blackish -bi-own and
white around back of neck ; breast with a band of mottled brown, separating the white throat
from white of rest of under part.'^, which have irregular lengthwise streaks of reddish -brown.
Wings and tail dusky-brown, the feathers marked on both webs with rows of round white
spots, largest on the inner; under wing-coverts white, crossed obliquely by a blackish bar.
Bill, cere, and feet dull greenish-yellow; soles chrome-yellow; claws black ; iris bright yel-
low; mouth livid flesh-color. Length of ^ 7.00 or a little less; extent 14.50; wing 3.75;
tail 3.00. Length of 9 ~-'^^^ > extent 15.50, etc. In 9 the upper parts are rather lighter,
with fewer larger spots, and a nearly obsolete nuchal collar ; but both sexes vary in the tint
of the upper parts, which ranges from pure deep brown to pale grayish, almost olivaceous,
brown, probably according to age and season, the newer feathers being darker than they are
when old and worn. Erytlirism, so well known in phal(rnoides, has not been observed in
the jtroscnt one, which is closely related to the Sparrow Owl of Europe ((?. passerinum).
Kocky Mts. and others of Western N. Am. from British Columbia S. to the tablelands of
Mexico, common in wooded regions ; an interesting little owl, crepuscular and rather diurnal
than strictly nocturnal, preying chiefly upon insects, but also upon birds and quadrupeds some-
times about as large as itself, as Robins, Grosbeaks, Towhees, Chipmunks, Gophers, etc. The
liird is usually found in coniferous forests, has low cooing notes, and nests in holes of trees or
stumps, mostly those made by Woodpeckers ; eggs 3-4, 1.02 X 0.01, white or whitish, mi-
nutely punctulate, laid in May or early June.
G. g. californ'icum. (Lat. Californian.) CalifoRN'IAN Gnome Owl. CALIFORNIA
Pygmy Owl. Like the last ; darker colored. The Pacitic coast form of the foregniui;,
occurring in California, Oregon, Washington, and Ikitish Columbia. G. pnssn-i)iiim var.
cnlifornicum of the Key, orig. ed. 1H72, jt. 2(M!, which is G- gnoma of the 2d and 3d eds. l!!'H4
and 1887, p. 514, includes this subspecies. The two forms were not then discriminated, and
their ref(rf'nc(> to their Ennijiran relative was erroneous. The present subspecies is G. califor-
644
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES— STRIGES.
nicum Sclater, P. Z. S. 1857; G. gnoma caUfornimm A. 0. U. Committee's List. 1st Suppl.,
1889, p. 9 ; CouES, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 379 a.
G. hos'kinsi. (To Frauds Hoskins, of Triunfo, L. Gala.) Hoskins' PvaMY Owl. Simi-
lar to the preceding, but smaller and grayer ; upper parts less distinctly spotted ; forehead and
facial disc with more white. Wing 3.30 ; tail 2.50 ; tarsus 0.75 ; chord of eulmen 0.50. Lower
California. G. gnoma hoskinsii Brewster, Auk, April, 1888, p. 136, accorded specific rank
by its describer with approval of the A. 0. U. Committee, in 1st Suppl. 1889, p. 9; Coues,
Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 379.1. I have inspected the type
specimens, which appear to be those of a distinct species.
G. phalccnoi'des. (Gr. (pdXaiva, phalaina, Ijat. phalcena, a moth, and el8os, eidos, form, figure,
appearance; from the resemblance of the plumage in coloration to that of certain moths. Fig.
440.) Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. Adult ^ 9, normal plumage : Tail entirely ferrugi-
nous, or light chestnut-red, crossed
with 7 to 9 bars of blackish-brown,
of same width as the rufous inter-
spaces, both sets of markings quite
regular. (These tail-marks distin-
guish the species in any plumage
from G. gnoma.) Entire top of
head, above superciliary ridges, and
sides of head behind auriculars, oli-
vaceous-brown, streaked with small
distinct lines of white or fulvous-
whitish ; these markings being on
forehead and most of crown like pin-
scratches in their sharpness, and
though a little less so behind ears,
everywhere retaining their narrow
linear character. (In G. gnoma, the
head-markings are dots and spots,
nut lines.) Back like head, oliva-
ceous-brown, but without markings,
except on scapulars, most of which
have a large round white spot on
outer web near end, and more or
fewer pairs of fulvous spots on both
webs. Color of back and head di-
vided by an obvious cervical collar,
Fig. 440. - Ferruginous Owl. (From The Osprey.) consisting of a series of diffuse whit-
ish, and another of fulvous, spots, separated by a nearly continuous line of black. Upper tail-
coverts usually more or less rufescent, approximating to color of tail. Remiges olivaceous-
fuscous, like back ; primaries imperfectly and indistinctly, secondaries completely and decidedly,
cross-barred with numerous rufescent bands, narrower than the dark intervals ; besides which
markings some of the primaries have an incompleted series of small whitish or very pale ful-
vous spots along outer edge, and all have large and deep indentations of white or whitish along
inner web, increasing in size from the ends toward the bases of all the feathers, and also on
individual feathers from outer primaries to inner secondaries, on which last tliey reach quite
across inner webs. Lining of wings white, with an oblique dark bar, and another curved dark
bar, latter across ends of under coverts. Under parts white, heavily streaked along sides with
color of back ; this color extending quite across breast, wliere, however, the feathers have di-
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS. 645
lated shaft-lines of whitish ; chin and throat white, divided into two areas by a blackish or
dark gular C(jllar, which curves across from one post-auricular region to the other. The mark-
ings all diffuse. Auriculars dark, sharply scratched with white snaft-liues, bounded below by
pure white. Eyebrows white, pretty definitely bounded above by color of crown. Region im-
mediately about the bill whitish, but mixed with long, heavy, black bristles that project far
beyond bill, which latter is greenish at base, growing dull yellowish at end ; sparsely-haired
toes somewhat like bill; claws brownish-black; iris lemon-yellow. Length of ^ about (i. .50;
extent 14.50; wing 3.50; tail 2. .50; tarsus 0.75: middle toe without claw about the same,
its claw 0.40. 9 larger: length 7.00 or more; wing 4.00; tail nearly 3.00. Red phase :
Entire upper parts deep rufous-red, with lighter markings of head, etc., obsolete or obliterated;
tail the same, with dark bars scarcely traceable. Dark cervical collar, however, conspicuous.
White of under parts tinged with yellowish or fulvous ; markings of under parts similar in
color to ground of upper parts, but duller and paler ; tibiae rufous, without markings. Gular
collar blackish. Various intermediate stages have been observed, and the species is to be found
in every degree of transition, from the slightest departure from the normal state to completely
erythritic condition. These color-conditions are common to both sexes. In extreme cases, the
rufous becomes intense and almost uniform, a light rufous replacing even the white of under
parts, and there being no traces left of bars on wings or tail. Texas to Arizona and Southern
California, and soutliward. Habits like those of the Gnome Owl; eggs of the same size and
shape, granulated, 3-4 in number, laid in holes in trees, April, May. G. ferrugineum of all pre-
vious editions of the Key, 1872-1890, as I hesitated to make any change of nomenclature in a
case the synonymy of which was so extensive and intricate; but the species is now identified
with the old Strix plialcEnoides of Daudin's Traite, ii, 1800, p. lOG; Glaucidium 2)halcBnoides
Cabanis, J. f. 0. 18(i9, p. 208 ; A. O. U. Lists, 1st and 2d eds. 1880-95, No. 380.
MICRO'PALLAS. (Gr. fiiKpos, mikros, small ; IlaXXdf, Pallas, goddess of wisdom, to whom
the Uwl was sacred.) Elf Owls. Kelated to Glaucidium ; of very diminutive size, including
the smallest known species of Owl, and one of the least of all raptorial birds. Head perfectly
smooth ; no plumicorns ; ear-parts small, uon-operculate ; facial disc incomplete, with eye not
centric. Nostril circular, opening in tumid cere. Tarsi scarcely feathered below sufFrago,
being almost entirely naked and bristly, like the toes; this is as in Speotijto, though other
characters are quite different. Claws remarkably small and weak ; middle toe and claw about
as long as tarsus ; outer claw reaching a little beyond base of middle claw ; inner intermediate
lietween middle and outer. Wings very long, rather more than | the total length of the bird,
l>ut much rounded ; 1st primary only f as long as longest one ; 3d and 4th longest, 5th but
little shorter, 2d about equal to ()th ; outer 4 sinuate on inner webs. Tail of moderate length,
^ as long as wing, the feathers not graduated, broad to their very tips. Bill small and weak,
compressed at base, where hidden in dense antrorse bristly feathers ; culmen and gonys only
moderately convex ; lower mandible obsoletely notched. One species known. Genus 3//-
crathene Coues, 1866, and lst-3d eds. of the Key, 1872-87; name changed to Micropallas
CouES, Auk, Jan. 1889, p. 71, and Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904, the generic name originally
bestowed being antedated by Micrathena of Sundevall, a genus of arachnidans.
M. Avhit'neyi. (To Prof. J. 1). Whitney.) Elf Owl. Adult ^ : Above, light umber-
brown, thickly marked with irregular angular ]>ale brownisli dots, one on every feather, and
inintitcly unduhitfd witli lii,'lit(r and darker color. A concealed white cervical collar, this color
occu|)ying the middle of the feathers, which are brown at end and pluml)eous at ba.^e. A white
sca])uiar stripe ; outer webs of scapulars almost entirely of this color. Wings like back ; lesser
coverts with two pale brownish spots on each feather; middle and greater coverts boldly spotted
with white at end of outer web of each feather, and with pale brown spots near end. Onills
with 3 to 6 pale brown spots on each web, forming broken bars, mostly passing to white on
edire of the feathers, those on a few intermediate primaries almost white. Tail-feathers like
646
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — STRIGES.
wing-quills, with 5 broken bars and one terminal, of pale brownish, whitening on inner webs.
Lining of wings white, interrupted with dark brown. Face and region about eye white, below
it barred with light and dark brown ; bristles at base of bill black on terminal half. Chin and
throat white, forming a broad mark from side to side. General color of under parts whitish ;
breast blotched and imperfectly barred with brown, forming toward abdomen large patches,
sides more grayish, Hanks plumbeous, tibiae narrowly barred with light brown and dusky.
Tarsal bristles whitish ; those of toes yellowish ; bill pale greenish ; iris bright yellow. Length
5.75-6.25; extent 14.25-
^v
Fig. 441. — Bills and feet of Speotyto, nat. size.
S. floridana. (Ad. nat. del. R. R.)
Lower, S. hnpogrea ; upper,
15.25; wing 4.25-4.50;
tail 2.00-2.25; tarsus 0.80-
0.90. Southern and Lower
California, Arizona, New
Mexico, southern Texas,
and S. through most of
Mexico ; a very curious
little Owl, whose general
habits, nesting, and food
are similar to those of the
Gnome Owls ; but it ap-
pears to be more noctur-
nal, and feeds more exclu-
sively on insects. It .is
common in the giant cac-
tus region, and nests usu-
ally in the Woodpecker
holes of those strange
forms of arborescence ; eggs 2-5, oftenest 3 or 4, 1.02 X 0.92, thus very rounded, pure white^
minutely granular, laid in May and June.
SPEO'TYTO. (Gr. o-Treo?, speos^ a cave ; tuto), txdo^ a kind of Owl.) Burrowing Owls.
Of medium and rather small size. Head smooth ; no plumicorns ; ear-parts small, iion-oper-
culate ; facial disc incom-
plete. Nostril opening in
the tumid cere. Wings ot
moderate length ; 2d to
4th quills longest ; 1st
about equal to 5th; 2 or
3 sinuate on inner webs
near end. Tail very shoit,
only about half as long as
wing, even or scarcely
rounded. Tarsi extremely
long ; about twice as long
as middle toe without its
claw, very scant-feathered
in front, bare behind ; toes
bristly. The long slim
1 -^ ^^ /-£ Fig. 442. — Burrowing Owl, reduced. (Sheppard del. Nichols sc.)
legs are quite peculiar (hg. " e >
441), in comparison with any other N. Am. Owls, though the bareness of the feet is shared
to a greater or less extent by the Antillean genus Gymnasia, the Old World Ninox, and somfr
other genera. Speotyto is a genus confined to America, where there are several subspecies.
>
STRIGID.E: OTHER OWLS.
647
of one or two species, of diurnal and terrestrial habits, noted for inliahitincr underirround
burrows.
S. cunieula'ria hypogae'a. (Lat. cuniciilaria, a bnrrower; Gr. vnoyfioi, hupogeios, under-
ground. Fig. 442.) Burrowing UwL. Adult J* ?: Above, dull grayish-brown, profusely
spotted with whitish ; the markings mostly rounded and paired on each feather, but anteriorly
lengthened. Quills with 4 to 6 whitish bars, entire or broken into cross-rows of spots ; tail-
feathers similarly marked. There is
much individual variation in the tone of
the ground-coll ir, and size and number of
spots, which may also be rather ochrey
than whitish. Superciliary line, cliin,
and throat white, the two latter separated
by a dark brown jugular collar ; auricu-
lars brown ; facial bristles black-shafted.
Under i)arts white or pale ochrey ; breast,
belly, and sides barred with transverse
spots ot brown, in a pretty regular man-
ner ; legs and under tail-coverts un-
marked. Lining of wings tawny-white,
dusky-spotted on primary coverts. Sexes
indistinguishable in size or color : Length
9.50 ; extent 23.00 ; wing 6.50-7.00 ;
tail 3.00-3.25; tarsus L50-1.75; mid-
dle toe without claw 0.80 ; chord of
culmen without cere 0.50-0.00. Young
differ in mucli less spotting, or even
uniformity, of the body above, and
whitish under parts, excepting the jugu-
lar collar; wing- anil tail-coverts largely
white. A remarkable Owl, abounding
in suitable places in Western X. Am.,
from the Plains to the Pacific, in tree-
less regions inhabited by " prairie-dogs "
(Cynomys liidovicianus, etc.) and other
burrowing rodents, such as SpermopM-
lus richanhoni \\\ the north, and S.
hcecheyi in California. I have found
colonies in Kansas, Nel)raska, Wyo-
ming, N. and S. Dakota, Montana N.
to 4!l°, Colorado, New Mexico, and
California, in all cases occupying the deserted burrows <if tlie (|uadru|ieil.s. in)t living in common
with them as usually supposed ; others have fouud these Owls burrowing in the rest of our
Western States and Territories, in western Minnesota, and British ('oluml>ia. They no doubt
occur also in portions of Alberta, Assiniboia, and Manitoba; stray individuals have been taken
in New York city and Massachusetts, and the species extends S. to Guatemala. Besides prairie-
dog holes the birds also occupy the holes made l>y badgers, skunks, and foxes. The eggs are
laid from 5 or G to 10 feet from the entrance of the burrow in an enlarged chamber at the end
of tlie variously curved or cnxdvcd passage-way, upon a mass of miscellaneous materials, often
including dried dung and feathers, and infested with Heas ; they vary in number from 0 t<> II.
being oltenest 7, 8, or 'J ; are wliite, subspherieal. I.:{(l X I l<» to |.|(l y (».!)S, averaging: 1.2.')
Hiirrouiiig Owl.
648
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
X 100; they are laid from April to July. The bird's food is chiefly insects, small reptiles,
and quadrupeds, birds being apparently rarely taken. It is easily able to prey upon mammals
up to the size of gophers, cliipmunks, and even rabbits, and habitually does so upon the young
at least of the various rodents, formerly supposed to be its hosts, with which it associates, thus
being by no means the friendly and welcome guest of those fairy-tales I was among the first t(»
discredit. As a whole, the species is resident, being able to endure extremely cold weather ; but
migration is of regular occurrence in some regions.
S. c. florid'ana. (Of Florida. Fig. 44.3.) Florida Burrowing Owl. Like the last ;
rather smaller; wing 6.00-t)..)0; tail 3.00; shanks more extensively denuded, only feathered
about half-way down in front ; feet and bill relatively longer. Upper parts darker, rather
bistre-brown, more profusely and confusedly spotted with smaller and whiter marks ; under
parts more heavily and regularly barred with darker brown. Florida ; an isolated local race,
small colonies of which are common in suitable open places in various parts of the State ; it
is also ascribed to the Bahamas. But the Burrowing Owls of some other Antillean islands
are a ditterent species or subspecies {quadeloupensis) . The burrows are excavated by the birds
themselves to the extent of 3 to 8 feet or more, generally quite near the surface of the ground;
eggs indistinguishable from those of hypogcea, but only 4-8, usually 6, laid March-May.
Suborder ACCIPITRES : Diurnal Birds of Prey.
This large group, comprising the great majority of Raptores, may be most readily defined
by exclusion of the particular characters of other suborders. There is nothing of the grallato-
rial analogy shown by the singular Gypogeranides. The nostrils are not completely pervious,
nor is the hallux elevated, as in Catliartides ; while other peculiarities of American Vultures
are wanting. Comparing Accipitres with Striges, we miss the peculiar physiognomy of Owls,
the eyes looking laterally as in ordinary birds, and the facial disc being absent (rudimentary in
Fig. 444. — Shoulder-joint of Accipitres ; after Ridgway. a, anterior end of coracoid ; 6, upper end of clavicle;
c, scapular process of coracoid, reaching b in the middle fig. (Falco peregrinus), but not iu the left-liand fig. (Buteo
hore(iUs), nor in the right-hand fig. {Pandion haliaetus) ; d, lower end of scapula. The figs. nat. size, left side, viewed
from opposite side.
CirciiKc) ; aftershafts are usually present ; the outer toe is not shorter than inner one, nor versa-
tile (except Pandionida'). The external ears are moderate and non-operculate. The eye is
usually sunken beneath a much projecting superciliary shield, conferving a decided and threat-
ening gaze. The bill shows the raptorial type perfectly, and is always provided with a cere
in which (not at its edge as in most Owls) the nostrils open; the cutting edges are usually
lobed, or toothed (see any figs.). The lores, with occasional exceptions, due to nakedness or
dense soft featherings, are scantily clothed with radiating bristly feathers, which, however, do
not form, as usual in Owls, a dense appressed ruff hiding base of bill. Wings of 10 primaries,
and tail of 12 rectrices (with rare exceptions) ; both extremely vai-iable in shape and relative
FALCONID.E: VULTURES, FALCONS, HAWKS, ETC. 649
and absolute lengths. The feet are usually strong and efficient instruments of prehension and
weapons of offence or defence, with widely separable and strongly contractile toes, cleft to the
base or there only united by small movable webs, and generally scabrous underneath with
wart-like pads or tylari to prevent slipping, as shown in fig. 46. The claws are developed
into large sharp curved talons. The tarsal envelop (podotheca) varies ; sometimes the whole
tarsus is feathered, and it is usually so in part ; the horny covering takes the form of scutella,
or reticulations, or rugous granulations, and is occasionally fused. The capacious gullet dilates
into a crop ; gizzard moderately muscular ; coeca extremely small ; oil-gland tufted; syrinx of
ordinary broncho-tracheal form ; ambiens and femorocaudal muscles are present ; accessory femo-
rocaudal, semitendinosus, and its accessory are absent. There are good osteological characters :
Phalanges of hind toe are more than half as long as those of outer toe ; basal joint of middle or
outer toe is longer than next one. No basipterygoid processes. Sternum manubriated, and
when not entire behind is single-notched or fenestrate on each side (doubly so in most Ov.-ls).
Huxley has called attention to a character of the shoulder-girdle, afterward well elaborated by
others (fig. 444) : In certain genera, as Falco, Micrastur, Herpetotheres, and in PolyhorincB,
tlie scapular process of the coracoid (fig. 444, c) is prolonged beneath the scapula, d, to meet
the clavicle, h; which is not the case in other groups of genera of Falconidce, nor iu Pandi-
onidce. This distinction has been made the basis of a primary division of diurnal Aceipitres
into two subfamilies, Falconince and Buteonince, the former including Polyhorus and its allies,
the latter including Pandion; but some modificatitm of this scheme is advisable, I think. It
seems to me that the primary divisi(»n should be made as on p. 619, by excluding PandionidcB
as a family distinct from Falconidce proper, on ground of its many peculiarities. This being
done, the character of the shoulder-joint may properly be considered in dividing i^aZconjVZfC into
subfamilies. I am perfectly willing to approximate Polyhorus to Falco on this technical arround,
notwith.standing the great outward dissimilarity of these two forms ; but it is unlikely that or-
nithologists will allow the construction of the shoulder-joint to outweigh all other characters
combined. The feet are sympelmous, but in two different ways iu the two families, Falconidce
and Pandioyiidce.
Diurnal Birds of Prey abound in all j^arts of the world, holding the relation to the rest of
their class that carnivorous beasts do to other mammals. With many exceptions, the sexes
are alike in color, but the 9 ^s almost invariably larger than the ^. Changes of plumage
with age are great, and render determination of species perplexing — the more so since purely
individual, and somewhat climatic, color-variations, and such special conditions as melanism,
are very frequent. Modes of nesting are various ; the eggs as a rule are blotched, and not so
nearly spherical as those of Owls. The food is exclusively of an animal nature, thougli end-
lessly varied; refuse of the stomach is ejected in a pellet by the mouth. The voice is loud and
harsh. As a rule, Birds of Prey are not strictly migratory, though many of them change their
abode with much regularity. Their mode of life renders them usually non-gregarious, except-
ing, however. Vultures and vulture-like Hawks, which congregate where carrion is plentiful,
([iiite like American Cathartides. There are upward of 3.50 species or good geoorraphic.il races,
referable to about 75 genera, and divisible into two families — Falconidce and Pa)idionid(C.
Family FALCONID^ : Vultures. Falcons. Hawks, Eagles, etc.
Characters as above, exclusive of those markini: the Fi^<h-hawl;s, Pandionidcp, beyond.
No unexceptionable division of the family liavin<: been proposed, and the subfamilies being still
at i.ssue, it may be best not to materially modify the arramrt'inent presented in the earliest edi-
tion of this work, further thau to separate Pandiunidcc from Falcouidtr proper, as was done iu
tlje 2d edition.
650
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
Old World Vultures form a group somewhat apart from the rest in many points of super-
ficial structure and habits, though so cdosely correspondent with ordinary Falconidce, and espe-
cially witli Buteonince, in all essential respects, that they can form at m(jst a subfiimily Vulturince
(fig. 445). They have nothing to do with American Vultures (suborder Cathartides), with
which they used to be wrongly united in a family Vulturidce. They are a small group of some
— ^ — ^ 9 genera and about 20 spe-
cies, mainly subsisting upon
carrion ; the most decidedly
raptorial is the Bearded Grif-
fin, Gypa'etus barbatus ;
other characteristically " vul-
turine" forms heing Vultur
nionachus, Pseudogyps ben-
galensis, Otogyjis auricularis,
Lophogyps occipitalis, Gyps
fulvus, Gypiscus pileatus,
Neophron percnopterus, and
Gypohierax angolensis ; of
these, some authors make the
genera Gypa'etus and Gypo-
liierax, respectively, types of
two other subfamilies, Gypae-
tince and GypohieracincB.
The South American
genera, Micrastur and Her-
2)etotheres, are each described
as being so peculiar as to
form a group of supergeneric
value, comparable with those
termed subfamiUes in the present work. Their rehitionships are with Falconince (Ridgway).
But Sundevall associates Spilornis with Herp)etotherincEj and places Micrastur among the
numerous genera of his Asturincs.
The foregoing are the principal if not the only supergeneric types of Falconidce which have
no representatives in our country.
The North American Falconidce fall in several groups, which I shall call subfamilies, with-
out insisting upon their taxonomic rank, or raising the question whether the family at large is
divisible in this manner. These groups are six in number : 1. C(Vcm«, Harriers ; 2. Milvince,
Kites ; 3. Accipitrince, Hawks ; 4. Fcdconince, Falcons ; 5. Polyborince, Caracaras ; 6. Bu-
teonince, Buzzards and Eagles. If it be urged that these groups grade into one another, it may
he replied that most large groups of like grade in ornithology do the same ; and that '' typical "
or central genera of each of them offer practical distinctions which have been recognized from
time out of mind, in popular opinion and vernacular language, as well as by the consensus of
most ornithological experts. The A. 0. U., however, recognizes only two subfamilies — Fal-
conince for the Falcons proper, and Accipitrince for all the rest, except the genus Pandion,
made a third subfamily of Falconidce, instead of a separate family. There is much to be said
in favor of this conservatism.
In my 1884 revision of North American Falconidce, made to check and amplify the descrip-
tions in the original edition of this work, an interesting relation between shape of wings and
their pattern of coloration presented itself, (a) If we take a " noble" Falcon, such as a Peregrine
or a Lanner, we find a strong, yet sharp wing, with the 2d primary longest, supported nearly to
Fio. 445. — The Vulture's BaiiqiK r iliu'.ti itiiig subfimily Vulturince of
family Falconidce, not represented iu Amerjca (.From Michelet.)
FALCONID^E—CIRCIN.E: HARRIERS. 651
the end by the 1st and 3d ; the nicking of the quills confined to a few, if occurring on more than
one, and situated near the tip. Such a wing is as potent in its feathers as in the construction
of its shoulder-joint, and indicates the acme of raptorial power in its possessor, a Falcon being
able to dash down upon its quarry with almost incredible velocity and violence. The mark-
ings of a Falcon's wing are no less characteristic, consisting of clean-cut, distinct spots of light
cok)r on both webs of primaries and secondaries, throughout their whole extent, or almost so.
(b) Any true "Hawk," as an Astur or Accijnter, has a rounded concavo-convex wing, confer-
ring a rapid, almost whirring, tlight, like that of a Partridge at full speed ; and such a bird
captures its prey by chasing after it with a wonderful impetuosity, but not at a single plunge
like a Falcon. Such a wing has more primaries cut, farther from their ends, and the markings
are pretty regular and distinct hais. (c) Any " Buzzard," as a Buteo, a heavy and compara-
tively slow or even lumbering bird in flight, taking its prey by surprise and merely dropping
on it without special address, has many or most of the primaries cut, far from their ends, and
tlie tendency of the markings is to fuse and blend in large irregular masses of color, the sharp
markings of Falco or Accipiter he'mg thua done away with. Of course there are exceptions,
as well as every possible gradation, in the case ; but if one will compare the wing of Circus or
Archibuteo with that oi Aecipiter or Falco, he cannot fail to perceive the point I raise. The
tail is in somewhat like case. In the most noble Birds of Prey it is very stiff and strong, with
almost lance(jlate feathers, sharply spotted as a rule; in a Hawk, longer and weaker, still regu-
larly barred ; in a Buzzard general! 1/ (there are marked exceptions) of medium length and strength,
with the markings tending to merge in large areas of color, just as those of the wings do. Fur-
thermore, in large and difficult genera, as Buteo for example, the best specific characters may
be aSorded by the markings of the tail. These are usually quite different in young and old
birds; but are amc^ng a Hawk's most specific credentials, after the mature plumage is assumed,
even when the rest of the plumage varies greatly, or is subject to melanism, erythrism, etc In
fine, many Hawks are best known by their tails. Melanism is frequent in Falconidce; erythrism
is not (just the reverse of the case of Strigidce). The further generalization may be made, that
the coloration of under parts of Falconidce is more distinctive of species than that of upper parts ;
and that when these parts are barred crosswise in the adult they are streaked lengthwise in the
young. Sexual differences are rather in size than in color, such a case as that of Circus being
exceptional.
Analysis of Subfamilies.
Scapular process of coracoid reaching clavicle.
Upper mandible toothed, lower mandible notched Falcon'is.e
Mandibles without tooth or notch PoLTBORiNi:
Scapular process of coracoid not reacliing clavicle.
Face with a ruff somewhat as in Owls C1RCIN.E
Face without ruff.
Tarsus approximately equal to tibia in length ; rounded wings little longer than tail .... Accipitrin.k
Tarsus decidedly shorter than tibia.
Tail forked, or much sliorter than the long pointed wings Milvin'.«
Tail not forked, moderately shorter tlian tlie obtuse wings Bitteoxik.e
Subfamily CIRCIN/E : Harriers.
Face surrounded with an incomplete ruff (as in most Owls;) orifice of ear about as large
as eye, and in some cases at least with a decided of>nch (fig. 446). Bill rather weak, not
toothed or notched. Legs lengthened ; tarsus approximately equalling tibia in length (as in
Accijiitrinfr). Wings and tail lenytliened. Form light and litlie; plumage loose; general
organization of the buteonine rather than of the falconine division of the family. Thus,
scapular process of coracoid not produced to clavicle ; no nirdiaii ridir'' <'n jialatc anteriorly;
septum nasi less complete than in Fnlco. and nostrils not circular with a central tubercle.
652
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
Fig. 446. — Ear-parts of Circus,
Macgillivray.)
(After
The Harriers constitute a small group, of the single genus Circus and its subdivisions (to
which soine add the African Pohjboroides) , containing some 15 or 20 species of various parts
of the world.
CIR'CUS. (Gr. KipKos, Jcirkos, Lat. circus, a kind of hawk ; from its circling in the air. Fig.
44G.) Harriers. Bill thickly beset with many curved radiating bristles surpassing in length
the cere, which is large and tumid ; tomia lobed or fes-
tooned, but neither toothed nor notched. Nostrils ovate-
oblong, nearly horizontal. Superciliary shield promi-
nent. Tarsus long and slender, scutellate before and
mostly so behind, reticulate laterally ; toes slender, the
middle with its claw much shorter than tarsus ; a basal
web between outer and middle ; all tuberculate under-
neath ; claws very large and sharp, much curved. Wings
very long and ample; 3d and 4th quills longest; 1st
shorter than Gth; outer 3-5 (in our species 4) emargi-
nate on inner webs ; 2d-5th emarginate on outer webs. Tail very long, about f as long as
wing, nearly even or rounded ; folded wings falling short of its end. In our species, which
differs little from the European C. cyaneus, the sexes are extremely unlike in color and size ;
old $ chiefly bluish-gray and white ; 9 ^nJ young of both sexes dark brown and reddish-
brown or tawny, with white rump; 9 is much larger than $ . Nest placed upon the ground ;
eggs colorless or nearly so. Harriers are among the most " ignoble" of Hawks, preying upon
humble quarry, chiefly small quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects, for which they hunt by quarter-
ing low over the ground with an easy gliding flight. They are " light-weights " in proportion
to their linear dimensions, all the members being lengthened, the wings especially ample.
The plumage is also loose and fluffy, somewhat like that of Owls, to which the Harriers are
related in several respects.
C. liudson'ius. (Lat. Imdsonius, of Hudson's Bay. Fig. 447.) American Marsh Hawk,
or Harrier. Blue Hawk. Mouse Hawk. Adult $ : In perfect plumage pale pearly-
bluish, or bluisli-ash, above,
with the upper tail-coverts en-
tirely white ; but most speci-
mens have a dusky wash ob-
scuring the bluish, and retain
traces of brown or rufous. Five
outer primaries mostly black-
ish, all of them and the secon-
daries with large white basal
areas on inner webs ; tail-feath-
ers banded with 5 or 6 obscure
dusky bars, the terminal one
strongest and most distinct, and
marbled with white toward
their bases. The bluish cast
invades the fore under parts.
t*'^\'-
Fig 447 —Marsh Hank, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del E C.)
the rest of which are white, with sparse drop-shaped rufous spots ; lining of wings white.
From this blue-and-white state the bird is found grading by degrees into the very different
plumage of the 9 and young : Above, dark umber-brown, everywhere more or less varied
with reddish-brown or yellowish-brown ; upper tail-coverts, however, white, forming a very
conspicuous mark ; under parts a variable shade of brownish-yellow, or ochraceous, streaked
with umbor-brown, at least on breast and sides ; tail crossed with 6-7 blackish bars. The
FALCONIDjE — MIL VINJE : KITES.
653
younger the bird the heavier the coloration, which is sometimes quite blackish and reddish,
excepting the white upper tail-coverts. Nestlings are covered with tawny or buff down, paler
or whitish below, overcast with gray above. ^ 9 • I^'S, tarsi, and toes bright yellow ; cere
yellow or yellowish; bill blackish; claws black. ^ : Length 17.50-19.00: extent 40.00-
44.00; wing 13.00-14.00; tail 9.00-10.00; tarsus .3.00 or less ; middle toe without claw 1.20.
9: Length 19.00-21.50; extent 45.00-50.00; wing 14.00-1(3.00; tail 9.50-10.50 ; tarsus 3.00
or more; middle toe without claw 1.40. N. Am. at large, S. to Panama and Cuba, one of the
most abundant and widely-diti'used of its family, especially in meadowy and marshy places,
and easily recognized ])y its generic characters, in all its variation of size and color; resident S.
frnm about 40°; breeds throughout range. The nest is placed upon the ground, and rather
neatly built of hay, a foot in diameter, 3 inches high ; eggs 2-9, commonly 4-6, broad and
nearly equal-ended, or quite ovate, averaging 1.80 X 1.40, with moderate variability either
way, dull white, with more or less greenish or bluish shade; no decided markings, but fre-
quently small spots and large blotches of very pale brownish on the surface, and some neutral-
tint shell-spots ; they are laid from April to June, but mostly in May. Commonly regarded
as a subspecies of C. cyaneus of Europe; averaging a little larger; old ^ retaining a few
rufous spots in white of under parts, and more evident barring of wings and tail. (C cyaneus
hudsonius of former eds. of the Key.)
Subfamily MILVIN/E: Kites.
No ruff or ear-conch. Lo-
ral bristles moderate, scanty or
([uite wanting, the head being
then closely and softly feathered e
to the bill. Superciliary shield .^^
evident or not. Bill usually r
weak, sometimes extremely ^_
slender; cutting edge of upper S;
mandible straight to the curve, ^'
or lobed or festooned, but not £:
todthed, nor under mandible Ej
truncate and notched. Nostrils y±.
not circular, nor with central ^
bony tubercle. Wings very ^
li "Ug, more or less narrowed and ^
l)ointed, with several (in our "^
genera 2 to 5) primaries emar- rf^
ginate on inner welis. Tail <.
very variable in length and
shape, in our genera nearly even l
or deeply forked. Feet very ^
small; tarsus much shorter than
tiliia, apjiroximately equal to
middle toe without claw, — usu-
ally feathered above, the rest Fio. 448. - A typical Kite ^i.7«„o«/M /or/,c«/,«). (From Miehelet.)
mostly or entirely reticulate in small pattern (with few or no large transverse scutella). Gen-
eral organization is buteoiiine ; the scai>ular jirocess of coracoid does not meet the clavicle,
septum nasi incompletely o.ssified, anterior ridge of palate little developed, if at all ; super-
ciliary .shield in one or two pieces. Kites form a rather extensive group of Hawks of no
654 S YSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
great streugth and less than average size, though very active, generally of lithe and grace-
ful shape, with long thin wings and often forked tail. They are "ignoble" birds, subsisting
upon small game, especially insects and reptiles. In Pernis apiwrus, the Bee-eating Hawk
of Europe, the whole head is densely and softly feathered to the bill. The group is less homo-
geneous than the others here presented, and might be dismembered, or merged in Buteonince.
The genera assigned differ with nearly every writer who recognizes the group. The type is
Milvus, near which stands our Elandides (fig. 448), and with which it may not be improper
to associate Elanus, Idinia, and Bontrhamus.
Analysis of Genera.
Tail nearly as long as the wings, deeply forked ; head closely feathered Elandides
Tail short, nearly or about even.
Five outer primaries emarginate on inner webs ; bill and claws extremely slender Rostrhanius
Two outer primaries emarginate ; tarsus scutellate in front Iitinia
— entirely reticulate Elanus
ROSTRHA'MUS. (Lat. rostrum, a beak ; hamus, a hook.) Sickle-billed Kites. Bill
extremely long and slender: upper mandible hooked almost into a sickle-shape, the curvature
also impressed to some extent upon the under mandible ; cutting edges entirely without tooth
or lobe, but simply curved like culmen ; gonys straight. Cere contracted ; nostrils narrowly
oval, horizontal. Loral bristles slight. Space between bill and eye nearly naked and colored,
as if a continuation of the cere. Wings long; 3d and 4th quills longest ; 5th next; 1st sliorter
than 6th ; outer 5 emarginate on inner webs. Tail about half as long as wing, slightly emar-
ginate or nearly even. Feet small ; tarsus feathered about ^ way down in front, then scutel-
late, for the rest reticulate ; middle toe and claw about as long as tarsus. Inner toe without
claw shorter than outer ; inner toe and claw longer than outer ; no evident webbing between
toes; soles granular, but little tuberculate. Claws very long and acute, but slender and com-
paratively little curved; inner edge of middle one dilated and jagged. A genus marked by ex-
treme hooking of the slender bill, otherwise near Elanus; containing two or three species of
the warmer parts of America.
R. socia'bilis. (Lat. sociahilis, sociable, gregarious.) Everglade Kite. Snail Hawk.
Adult ^ 9 • General color slate, or blackish-plumbeous, blackening on wings and tail, over-
laid on head and neck with a chalky cast. Base of tail, with longer upper coverts and all
under coverts white, increasing in extent on tail from middle to lateral feathers ; tail also with
a pale gray or whitish terminal zone. Bill and claws black ; base of bill, cere, and feet bright
orange, drying dingy yellow; iris red. Length I6.OO-I9.OO; extent about 44.00; wing 13.50-
15.50 ; tail 6.50-7.50; bill 0.90-1.00; tarsus 1.75-2.25; middle toe without claw, rather less.
Young birds are much varied with brown, yellowish, and white, but the species is unmistak-
able in any plumage. Florida, some of the West Indies, Mexico, and S. through most of S.
America. Common in the " everglades" of Florida; and resembling the Marsh Hawk in habits ;
food largely a kind of snail (Pomus depressus) ; nest in a bush or amidst rank herbage, often
over water, built of sticks, leaves, and grasses, a foot or more in diameter by 6 or 8 inches
deep, with a shallow cavity ; eggs 2 or 3, greenish-white or whitish, irregularly spotted,
scrawled, blotched, or smirched with brown, about 1.72 X 1-45, laid in March and April,
rarely late in February. (i2. sociahilis of orig. ed. of Key, p. 211 ; R. s. plumheus of 2d-
4th eds. p. 523, by error.)
ICTI'NIA. (Gr. IktIvos, iktinos, a kite.) Lead Kites. Bill rather small, but robust,
very deep and wide for its length; tip of upper mandible much overhanging, its cutting edge
very prominently lobed, sometimes almost toothed like a Falcon's, sometimes irregularly
sinuate-serrate ; the nick just in front of the lobe usually permitting the median ridge of the
palate to be visible from the side ; culmen very strongly arched in nearly a quadrant of a circle ;
gonys convex, ascending; cere short; nostrils small, subcircular; loral bristling slight; super-
FA L COXID.E — MIL \ 'IN.E : KI TES.
655
ciliary sliield small, in oue jjiece. Wings of moderate length, ample; 3d quill longest; 2d but
little shorter ; 1st quite short, about equal to 6th ; outer 2 emarginate on inner web, and next
2 somewhat sinuate. Tail moderate, even or emarginate, the feathers broad to their obtusely
rounded ends. Feet short and stout ; tarsus scantily feathered about ^ way down in front,
then scutellate, for the rest reticulate; middle toe without claw about as long as tarsus; outer
and middle toes connected by a basal web for whole length of basal joint of the latter; inner
toe without claw shorter than the outer, with claw hunger, its claw being much larger than
that of outer toe, reaching beyond base of middle claw. Soles broad, especially under the hind
toe, which is widely margined ; claws short, stout, much curved. A genus of two species,
Fio. 449. — Left, Mississippi Kite, J nat. siz
liclit. Suallnu-t.iil.-.l Kit,-,
(^From Brelim.)
routined to temperate and trupicil .America; of great volitorial power, spending much of their
time on the wing in aerial gyrations; somewhat gregarious like other 3Iilrin(r, and preying
uixin the hum])lest (juarry, especially insects and small re])tiles, often feeding from their talons
as they sail through the air, after sweeping down upon their prey and seizing it as they pass
without staying their Hight.
I. inississippien'sis. (Lat. of Mississippi. Fig. 44!>.) Mi.-iSissiiM'i Krn:. Adult ^ ^ :
General plumage plumbeous or dark ashy-gray, bleaching on head and secondaries, blackeniuir
on tail and wings, several primaries more (^) or less (9 ) sufl'iised with chestnut-red on inner
web or on both webs. Forehead and tips of seeondaries usually silvery-whitish; concealed
white spots on scapulars ; bases of feathers of head and under j»arts Heocy-white. Lores, eye-
656 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
lids, and bill, including cere, black ; gape of iiioutb and feet orange, the latter obscured on front
of tarsus, and along tops of toes ; iris lake-red. Feet and cere drying to a nameless dingy
color. Length of $ about 14.00 ; extent 36.00 ; wing 10.50-11.50 ; tail 6.00-6.50 ; tarsus 1.45 ;
9 about 15.00; wing 11.00-12.50; tail 6.50-7.00. Young: Head, neck, and under parts
whitish, spotted with dark brown or reddish-brown, excepting on throat and along super-
ciliary line; lining of wings tawny, spotted VA'ith rusty-brown; upper parts blackish, naost
feathers edged with tawny- white ; quills tipped with white; tail black, with about 3 pale ashy
bands, and as many rows of white spots on inner webs. Southern U. S., regularly N. to South
Carolina, Illinois, and Kansas, casually to Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Wisconsin ; W. to the
Indian Terr, and Texas; S. through Mexico to Guatemala; replaced in Central and South
Auierica by the related but quite distinct I. plumhea. Nest of sticks, etc., in trees, either de-
ciduous or coniferous, at various heights, 20-60 feet; eggs 2-3, 1.65 X 1-35, pale glaucous,
noi-uially unmarked, but often with some faint spots or stains ; laid in April, May, or June.
(Ictinia snhccerulea (Bartr.) Coues, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 524.)
E'LiANUS. (Lat. elanus, a kite.) Pearl Kites. Related tfi the last; general form and
aspect similar. Pattern of coloration entirely different. Bill rather weak and compressed ;
tomia of upper mandible devoid of lobe or festoon, but slightly sinuate to the overhanging tip;
gonys about straight; culmen less strongly convex than in Ictinia ; nostrils subcircular, near
middle of the moderate cere. Feet very small ; tarsus feathered half-way down in front, for
the rest finely reticulate, like tops of toes to near their ends; hind toe very short ; claws small,
little curved, not scooped out underneath ; basal web between middle and outer toes slight
(compare feet oi Ictinia). Wings nearly or about twice as long as tail; pointed, 2d and 3d
quills longest, 1st about equal to 4th, 1st and 2d emarginate on inner webs. Tail emarginate^
but outer feather shorter than the next, all the feathers broad to their obtusely -rounded ends.
A small genus of 4 or 5 species inhabiting the warmer parts of the world.
E. glau'cus. (La.t. glaucus, hhnsh.) Black-shouldered Kite. White-tailed Kite.
Adult (J 9 : Upper parts pale bluish-ash ; most of the head, whole tail, and entire under
parts, including lining of wings, pure white; lesser and middle wnng-coverts black, forming a
great black area ; a patch on under wing-coverts, shafts of most tail-feathers, and loral spot,
also black; white of under parts and middle tail-feathers often wdth a pearly bluish cast. Bill
and claws black ; cere and feet yellow or orange; iris red or reddish. Length 15.50-17.00;
extent 39.00-41.50 ; wing 11.50-13.50; tail 7.00-8.00; tarsus 1.30; middle toe without claw
about the same; 9 averaging larger than ^. Young : Marked with dusky and redtlish-brown ;
wing-feathers white-tipped, tail-feathers with a subterminal asiiy bar. In this species the tail
is emarginate to a depth of about 0.50; outer tail-feather also about as much shorter than the
next, which is the longest one. Southern U. S. from Atlantic to Pacific; N. to South Carolina,
Illinois, Indian Territmy, and Middle California, casually to Michigan ; S. through Central
and most of South America ; common in many localities and resident, but of irregular distri-
bution, especially iu the breeding season, March-^Iay. With habits in general like those of
the last species, this elegant Kite is stronger and more predaceous, preying upon small birds and
quadrupeds as well as insects and reptiles ; its favorite haunts are near streams or marshes. It
nests in trees, preferably the tops of low oaks ; eggs 3-5, oftenest 4, subspherical, about 1 .66 X
1.33, whitish, blotched and smirched with mahogany color, usually to the extent of mostly hid-
ing the ground color with these rich and heavy reddish and blackish browns. (E. glancus
Coues, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 525, holds good ; for those who will not accept Falco glauciis
from Bartram, 1791, must take it from Barton, N. H. Penn. 1799, p. 11 : see Coues,
Birds Coll. Vail. 1878, p. 593, and Auk, Apr. 1897, p. 21 G. E. leucunis of A. 0. U. Lists,
1886-95, by error.)
ELANOi'DES. (Lat. elanus, and Gr. e'idos, eidos, resemblance.) Swallow-tailed Kites.
Prominently characterized by the extremely elongated and deeply forficate tail, length of which
FALCONIDuE — ACCll'ITRIX.E: HAWKS. 657
nearly equals that of wing, the narrow, acuminate lateral feathers being more than twice as
long as middle pair when full grown. Wings also very long, thm, and acute; 2d and .3d ([uills
ft)rming the point; 1st about equal to 4th ; 1st and 2d emarginate on inner webs. Feet very
short, but stout ; tarsus feathered about i way down in front, elsewhere irregularly reticulate ;
toes mostly scutellate on top, but reticulate toward their bases, granular and padded under-
neath; claws short, stout, strongly arcuate, scooped out underneath, with sharp edges, that of
the middle dilated. Bill rather weak, with moderately convex culmen and small cere; the
cutting edge festooned. Nostrils oval, oblicjue. Head closely feathered on sides; a small
superorbital shield of a single bone. A beautiful genus, of a single species, related to Old
World Milvus (typical Kites) and esp<'cially to Nauclerus, with wliieh latter it has usually
been associated.
E. forfica'tus. (Lat. forficatus, deeply forked. Figs. 448, 449.) Swallow-tailed Kite.
Snake Hawk. Adult ^ ^ : Head, neck, band on rump, and entire under parts, including
lining of wings, snow-white ; back, wings, and tail, glossy black, with various lustre, chiefly
green and violet. Bill bluish-black; cere, edges of mandibles, and feet pale bluish, the latter
tinged with greenish; claws light-colored. Length about 24.00, but very variable; extent
50.00; wing 15.50-17.50; tail up to 14.50, cleft more than J its length; tarsus about 1.25;
middle toe without claw rather less. Young : Similar ; less lustrous ; wing- and tail-feathers
white-tipped; feathers of head and neck pencilled with delicate shaft-lines of blackish. This
most elegant Kite, superlative in ease and grace of wing, floats, soars, and dashes over the
greater part of America, and even crosses the Atlantic on its buoyant pinions (Great Britain,
more than once, see Zool. June 15th, 1897, p. 270). It is abundant in the Southern U. S.,
sometimes winging its way to the Middle States, even to New England, and regularly up the
whole ^Mississippi valley, to that of the Red Kiver of the North. While I was collecting on
the northern Boundary Survey, in Nortli Dakota, Manitoba, and Assiniboia, in 1873, and dur-
ing my exploration of the source of the Mississippi in Minnesota, in 1894, I was repeatedly
gratified by the spectacle of this impetuous bird, so like a colossal swallow in its flight, build,
and coloration. Its breeding range is irregularly coextensive with its general distribution in
North America ; the laying season is March-!May in the South, but May and June in the Upper
Mississippi and Red River valleys. The nest is placed on a tree, preferably atop a tall one,
and is constructed of sticks, hay, moss, etc.; eggs 1-4, oftener 2 or 3, averaging nearly 1.90 X
1.50, witli the usual range of variation in size and shape, wliite or whitish, irregularly blotched
and specked with rusty and rich dark chestnut-brown, in most cases in bold, handsome
patterns.
Subfamily ACCIPITRIN>E : Hawks.
General form strict, with small head, shortened wings, and lengthened tail and legs.
Tarsi approximately equal to tibia in length. Bill slu»rt, robust, high at base; toothless, but
usually with a prominent festoon; no central tubercle in the broadly oval nostril, nor keel of
palate anteriorly. Superciliary shield prominent. Coracoid arrangement as in Biiteoninie,
into which grou[» the present one grades. Wings concavo-convex ; .3d to Gth quills longest,
1st very short and more or less bowed inward, outer 3 to 5 emarginate or sinuate on inner
webs. Tail quite long, square or rounded, sometimes emarginate, nearly cquaUing wiui: in
length. Tarsi slender, longer than middle toe without chiw, usually ext«'nsively if not com-
pletely denuded of feathers, and scutellate before and behind ; but in sonu' cases the scales fuse
in a continuous boot, like that of a Thrush. This is an extensive group of medium-sized and
small Hawks, little if at all inferior in spirit of audacity to the true Falctms, though less jtow-
irfully ortranized, and in fact conforming in anatomical characters with Tintamiu(C rather tlian
with F(i}ioui)ur. In the teclinic of falconry, Accipifrituc are styled "ignoble," because tiie.se
short-winired Hawks rake after tlie (piarry, instead of plunging upon it like the " noble " long-
658 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
winged Falcons. Their flight is swift and dashing; they capture their prey in open chase with
amazing celerity and address, always killing for themselves and disdaining refuse. Their
quarry is chiefly birds and quadrupeds. Astur and Accipiter are the typical and principal
genera, of which some 50 species (chiefly of the former genus) are known, inhabiting most
parts of the world. Our representatives of these genera are easily discriminated, but some
exotic species connect tliem so closely that the A. 0. U. makes Astur a subgenus of Accipiter.
Analijsis of Genera or Suhgeyiera.
Small and medium-sized ; length 20.00 or less. Tarsus more extensively denuded, and scutellate, sometimes booted.
Accipiter
Large ; length over 20.00. Tarsus less extensively denuded, and scutellate, never booted Astur
ACCI'PITER. (Lat. accipiter, a hawk. Fig. 450.) Sharp-shinned Hawks. Tarsi
feathered about |- way down in front, or less (in Astur about ^ way), and quite slender (whence
the term "sharp-shinned"); in one of our two species prominently and continuously scutellate
before and behind, the scutellation continued on to the toes ; in the other the same, or finally
fused in a continuous " boot." Toes long, slender, the outer much webbed at base and padded
underneath ; inner claw much larger than middle one, approximately equalling hind claw ;
height of bill at base greater than chord of culmen ; 4th and 5th quills longest, 3d and 6th
next, 2d shorter than 6th, 1st very short. The two following species are exactly alike in color ;
one is a miniature of the other. The ordinary plumage is dai'k brown above (deepest on head,
the occipital feathers showing white when disturbed), with an ashy or plumbeous shade which
increases with age, till the general cast is quite bluish-ash ; below, white or whitish, variously
streaked with dark brown and rusty, finally changing to brownish-red (palest behind and
slightly ashy across breast), the white then only showing in narrow cross-bars; chin, throat,
and crissum white, with blackish pencilling, the crissum, however, usually immaculate; wings
and tail barred with ashy and brown or blackish, quills white-barred basally, tail whitish-
tipped ; bill dark ; claws black ; iris, cere, and feet yellow. Sexes alike in color ; 9 much
larger than ^.
Analysis of Species.
Feet extremely slender ; bare portion of tarsus longer than middle toe ; scutella frequently fused ; tail square,
cf 10.00-12.00; extent about 21.00; wing C.00-7.00; tail 5.00-G.OO. ? 12.00-14.00; extent about 25.50 ; wing 7.00-
8.00 ; tail 6.00-8.00 ; whole foot 3.50 or less veJox
Feet moderately stout ; bare portion of tarsus shorter than middle toe ; scutella always distinct ; tail rounded,
cf lG.00-18.00 ; extent about 30.00 ; wing 9.00-10.00 ; tail 7.00-8.00. $ 18 00-20.00 ; extent about 35.00 ; wing
10.00-11.00; tail 8.00-9.00; whole foot 4.00 or more . . . . , cooperi
A. ve'lox. (Lat. velox, swift, moving with velocity or rapidity. Fig. 451.) Sharp-shinneu
Hawk. "Pigeon" Hawk (so called, but not to be confounded with Falco columharius) .
Little Blue Darter. Adult $ 9 '• Above, dark plumbeous, slate-color, or bluish-gray,
somewhat more fuscous on wings and tail than on the body ; feather.s of hind-head with fleecy
white bases, scapulars with concealed white spots. Tail crossed by about 4 blackish bars, the
first under the coverts, the last subterminal and broadest; extreme tips of the feathers white.
Primaries also marked with blackish bars or spots, and whitening at their bases, in bars or in-
dents of the inner webs. Under parts barred crosswise with rufous on a white ground, the bars
on some parts cordate and connected along shafts of the feathers, which are blackish ; ear-coverts
rufous ; rufous mostly or entirely wanting on cheeks, throat, and crissum, which are more or less
finely pencilled with black shafts of the feathers; crissum, however, often pure white. Axil-
lars barred like other under parts ; lining of wings white, with dusky spots. Dimensions as
above. Young: Above, umber-brown, varied with rusty-brown edgings of most of the feath-
ers ; white spots of scapulars exposed. Below, white more or less tawny-tinged, striped length-
wise with dark brown or reddish-brown on most parts, the feathers mostly black-shafted. This
FALCONID.E — A CCIPITRIN/E: HA WKS.
669
state is oftener seen than the perfected plumage ; every intermediate stage is seen ; but there
can be no misunderstanding the species, as our only other Hawks {Falco columburius and F.
sparverius) of similar sliglit dimensions belong to a different geuus aud subfamily. N. Am.
at large, one of our most abundant Hawks, aud one which, notwithstanding its smalluess, sus-
tains the reputation of Accipitrince for nerve and prowess. It preys almost entirely upon birds,
up to the size of a Robin, even of a Pigeon ur pullet. The nest is built at a fair height in a
tree, preferably a conifer, sometimes in a hollow or on a ledge of rocks, being a shallow plat-
form of small sticks with or without a lining of leaves or bark ; of remarkably large dimensions
for the size of the bird ; the eggs are generally laid in May, sometimes not till June, to the
number of 4 or 5, rarely more. The white ground-color has often a livid bluish or greenish
Fio. 450. — Accipiier nisus of Europe, adult (f, J nat. size; not distinguishable in a cut from our Sharp-shinned
Hawk ; taken as of j nat. size it would represent Cooper's Hawk just as well ; at | it would do duty for a Goshawk.
(From Brelim.)
tint, and is marked, often so thickly as to be obscured, with large, irregular splashes of various
shades of brown, intermiuably changeable in number, size, and pattern, sometimes inclining
ti> form masses or a wreath, sometimes more evenly distributed, sometimes reduced to spots,
in rare cases to a few mere specks sparsely scattered over the whole surface. The egg is of
nearly equal size at both ends, and measures about 1.45 X 1.15, ranging in length from 1.40
to 1.54. It is not always distinguishable with certainty from that of Fako cnlumbnrius. The
eggs of this species are usually beautiful objects. (A.fuscus of ]>revious eds. of the Key, a
name preoccupied ; velox Wilson is next in order of date, and now usccl by the A. 0. U.)
A. coo'pcri. (To Wm. Cooper. Figs. 452, 45.*}.) Cooper's Hawk. Chickkn Hawk (a
name shaiid l)y species of 7?»/eo.) liio BurE Dautkk. Tlie colors and changes of j»lumage
of this species being practically tlie same as those of trior, need not be repeated. The chief
diffeicnces are : crown of adult usually ajipreciably darker slate than back ; wliite scapular spots
sm.iller, fewer, or w.nitini,' ; in high plumage the upper parts clearer bluish, while the breast
lias a tine glaucous bloom overlying the rufous and white ground-color; tail more decidedly
(360
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
white-tipped. A small $ cooperi grades in size nearly down to a large 9 velox, but there ap-
pears to be constantly a ditiereuce of 2 00 at least in total length; and in any event, the other
characters above given will suffice for their discrimination. In either species, the yellow of the
cere and feet is often or usually obscured with greenish. In cooperi, tlie tarsal scutella are
sometimes indistinct, but are not known to fuse into a boot. A large 9 not distantly resembles
FALCOXIDjE — A CCIPITRTNJZ: HA WKS.
661
a young $ Goshawk ; but difference in feathering of tarsus is distinctive. Temperate N. Am.
at large, and southward; one of the common "chicken" Hawks, and a fellow of great audacity
and prowess, preying on
birds up to the size of Grouse
and di>mestic })oultry. Nest-
ing substantially as described
for velox, but the cht)ice of
a site is more variable in ^Q^f^-^ ^' "iJ^^BP ^S^-^
height and kind of tree, and
the structure is relatively
smaller ; also, the nest of
some other Hawk, or of a
Crow, is often utilized. Eggs
I have examined measure
from 1.80 X 1-45 to 2.00 X
1.65 (figures showing tlie Fig. 452. —Beak and Ulons of ^criy^Z/er (.1. coo/jeW, nat. size). (Ad. nat.
variation both in size and ^^^' ^" "^
shape), averaging al)out 1.90 X 1.50. They re.-;emble those of the Marsh Hawk so closely as
not to be certainly distinguishable, but are usually more globular, and with a more granulated
shell. The greatest diameter is at or very near the middle ; difference iu shape of the two ends
is rarely appreciable. All are more uniform in color than those of most Hawks, resembling the
pale, scarcely-marked examples occasionally laid by most kinds; none are conspicuously dark-
marked. The ground is bluisli-wliite, faintly tinted
witli livid or greenish-gray, rarely quite greenish ;
if marked, it is usually with faint, sometimes
almost obsolete, blotches of drab, liable to be over-
looked without close inspection ; but a good many
specimens are found with decided, though still dull
and sparse, spots and scrawls of ])ale brown.
Tinee or four eggs are the usual nest-complement,
but the number ranges from 2 to G ; iu the North-
ern and Middle States they are laid iu May, in the
Southern also in the latter part of April, and in
some localities they are found fresh in June.
AS'TUK. (Lat. astur, a hawk.) G<)SIIAWKS.
( 'liaracters iu general as above given for Accipiter;
size superior, organization nK)re rtibust ; feet
stronger ; tarsus feathered about k way down iu
front and on sides, leaving only a narrow bare strip
lichind; scutcllatiou discontinuous at bases of toes,
wliich are finely reticulate ; resumed beyond ; never
fused. These "goose-hawks" or "star-hawks"
are a small genus of five or six '" ignoble" species,
hilil ill liigh cstiiiiatinii \\\ talcoucrs fir their jiniwess in the chase. Ours appears to be quite
<listin<'t trnui VA\m\H':\\\ ixihimlidriiis, tlioiigh closely related. (Siibi.'enus ..4.s7«;", A. 0. V .)
A. atriciipil'liis. (I.at. utriaipillus, black-Iiaired. Figs. 4.")4, 4.").").) Amf.kH'AN Gi).<!llAWK.
15lue Hen Hawk (adult). C'iiickkn Hawk (young). Adult <^ 9 = AI)ove, dark blnisli-
slate color, each feather black-shafted; top of head blackish, conspicuously diHerent from other
u|iper parts, the feathers tliere with Heecy white bases ; a long white superciliary or rather post-
ocular stripe; .•luriciilars blackish, (irouiid color of under jiarts, including lining of wings,
Kio. 4.53. — Coopcr'.s Il.uvk.
662
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
white, closely barred or vermiculated in narrow zigzag lines with slaty-brown, except on throat,
and ciissum, and everywhere sharply pencilled with blackish shaft-lines, one on each feather.
The barring is largest and most regular on belly, Hanks, and
tibiae, but is for the most part much dissipated in fine mottling.
It varies greatly in coarseness in different specimens, some of
which approach palitmbarius in this respect. Tail like back,
banded with 4 or 5 blackish bars, the terminal one much the
broadest. Wing-quills in similar pattern; both these and tail
showing tendency to some whitish mottling of inner webs of the
feathers. Bill dark bluish ; iris reddish ; feet yellow, claws
black. Young: Difference substantially as in ^cctp«7er: above,
dark brown, varied with rusty-brown and whitish ; below, white,
more or less tawny-tinged, with oblong, lance-linear, clubbed or
drop-shaped dark brown markings. Tail more distinctly barred
than in the adult, and with white tip. Iris yellowish. But iu
any equivocal plumage, the Goshawk may be recognized by its
size, which is that of an average Buteo, together with the short
rounded wings, very long fan-shaped tail, and other generic char-
acters. Length of ^ 20.00-22.00; extent about 42.00; wing
12.00-13.00; tail 9.00-10.00; tarsus 2.75; middle toe without
claw 1.75; chord of culmen without cere 0.90; 9i length 22.00-
24.00; extent 45.00 or more; wing 13.00-14.00; tail 11.50-12.50.
A large, powerful, and in perfect plumage, a very handsome
Hawk, of splendid spirit, combining ferocity witli audacity in the
highest degree, and the terror of the poultry-yard, where it does
more damage than any other Hawk, or than the great Horned
Owl ; it habitually preys upon birds up to the size of Grouse and
Ptarmigan, and mammals as large as hares. It is a larger, and
altogether "better" bird than the European Goshawk. It in-
habits northern N. Am.; the northern half of the U. S. chiefly
in winter, but is also resident in some parts, and breeds in moun-
tainous regions S. to Colorado, where I have seen it in summer,
and New Mexico ; it occurs sometimes on the Pacific Coast of
the U. S., as in Oregon, and has been taken in England. The
nesting and eggs are like those of Accipiter cooperi; eggs only
distinguishable by their superior size, measuring about 2.30 X 1-85, are 2-5 in number, white
with a faint bluish tint, normally immaculate, sometimes showing faint brownish or neutral tint
discolorations. They are laid in April and May.
A. a. stria'tulvis. (Lat. striaUdus, finely striped.) Western Goshawk. Described as
having markings of under parts so fine and dense as to present a nearly uniform bluish-ashy
nebulation, pencilled with fine black-shafted lines, and the upper parts dark plumbeous, inclin-
ing to blackish on the back; the young brownish -black above, with broad black screaks be-
coming often cordate spots on the thighs. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, especially the Coast
region, breeding from Sitka, Alaska, to the Sierras Nevadas of California in lat. 39°.
Pig. 4r>4. — European Goshawk,
young (} \ nat. size, not distinguish-
able in the cut from the young Amer-
ican Goshawk ; change of scale to \
or 4 would make it represent the
young (f Cooper's or Sharp-shinned
Hawk. (From Brehm.)
Subfamily FALCONIN/E: Falcons.
Bill furnished with a sharp tooth and notch near end of cutting edge of upper mandible
(sometimes two such teeth) ; end of under mandible truncated, with notch near tip (figs. 456,
458). Nostrils circular, high in the cere, with a prominent central tubercle (fig. 456). Inter-
FA L CONID^ — FA L CONIN.E ; FA L CONS.
663
nasal septum extensively ossified. Palate with a median keel anteriorly. Superciliary shield
proniiueiit, in one large piece. Shoulder-joint strengthened by union of scapular ])rocess of
coracoid with clavicle (fig. 444) as in Micrastur, Herpetotheres, and Pohjborince alone of Fal-
conidce. Wings strong, long, and pointed, with rigid and usually straight and tapering Hight-
feathers ; tip formed by 2d and 3d quills, supported nearly to their ends by Isl and 4th, both
of which are longer than 5th ; only one or two outer primaries emarginate on inner webs near
end. Tail short and stiff, with more or less tapering rectrices. Feet strong, rather short ;
tarsus of less length than tibia, feathered more or less extensively, elsewhere irregularly reticu-
late in small pattern varying with the genera or subgenei'a ; never scutellate in single series
M
t
Fig. 455. — American Goshawk, nat. size.
before or behind. Middle toe very long ; talons very strong. True falcons are thus eminently
distinguished from other members of the family ; a glance at the toothed beak suffices for their
recognition. They are birds of medium and small size, some kinds being not larger than a
Sparrow, but extremely sturdy organization, vigorous physif|ue, and temerarious dis])osition.
They capture their quarry with sudden and violent onslauglit, and exhibit raptorial nature in
its highest degree. The typical an<l principal genus is Fnico, of which there are several sub-
divisions corresponding to minor modifications. Upwards of ."SO species are recognized. Our
rather numerous species represent the several grades of Gyrfalcons, Lanuers, Peregrines, Mer-
lins, and Kestrels. These I shall consider under one genus, Falco, with indication of the sub-
genera.
FAL'C'O. (Lat. falco, a falcon or fauct)n.) Characters as above, with minor modifications
as follows : —
Anali/sis of Subgenrra, Sprcies, and f!uhspecies.
TarHus morp or less feathered above, elsewhere irreRuIarly reticulate in small pattern (no large plates like srutella) ;
•-M i>nin!»ry lonRfst ; Int longer than 4th, and alone decidedly emarginate on imier web. ( Gy r/d/foru and Lan-
ners.) ^HlEROFALCo.)
664
5 YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — RAP TORES — A CCIPI TRES.
Gyrfalcons : Tarsus feathered fully ^ way down iu front and on sides, leaving but a narrow strip bare be-
hind ; longer than middle toe without claw ; 1st quill shorter than 3d. Sexes alike. Very large : about
2 feet long.
Prevailing color white. Arctic isla7idus
Prevailing color dark ; head and neck lighter than back. Arctic and Subarctic rusticolus
Prevailing color dark ; head and neck darker than back. Arctic and Subarctic .... r. gyrjaleo
Prevailing color blackish. Labrador and Southward r. ob.wletus
Lanners : Tarsus feathered J way down in front, broadly bare behind ; longer than middle toe without claw :
1st quill shorter than 3d. Medium ; grayish-brown above ; sexes alike mexicanus
Peregrines : Tarsus feathered but a little way down in front, broadly bare behind ; not longer than middle
toe without claw ; 1st quill not shorter than 3d. Medium: slaty-bluish above ; sexes alike. (Rhynchodon.)
The ordinary Duck Hawk of N. Am. peregrinus anatum
The dark N. W. Coast form p. peatei
Tarsus scarcely feathered above, with the plates in front enlarged, like a double row of alternating scutella (and
often with a few true scutella at base) ; 2d or 3d primary longest ; 1st not longer than 4th ; 1st and 2d emargmate
on inner webs. (Merlins, Kestrels, and Hobbies.)
Merlins : Tarsus scarcely longer than middle toe without claw. Sexes unlike ; young of both like adult $ .
Small ; wing 7.50-8.50. (jEsalon.I
Tail of cf with not more than 4 dark bands, the subterminal one broad, or 5 light ones.
The ordinary Pigeon Hawk of N. Am columbnrius
The dark N. W Coast form c. suckleyi
Tail of (f with 5 dark and 6 light bands. Interior N. Am richardsoni
Tail of (f with more numerous bands. Straggler from Europe regulus
Kestrels : Tarsus decidedly longer than middle toe without claw. Sexes very unlike at all ages. Smallest :
wing 7.00-7.50. (Tinnunculus.)
Under parts white or tawny , back rufous, barred $ or plain (f.
The ordinary Sparrow Hawk of N. Am sparverius
The pale desert form from the Southwest s. deserticolus
The depauperate peninsular form of Lower California y. pemnsularis
Under parts bulf ; back rufous, barred $ or spotted (f with black. Straggler from Europe tinnunculus
Under parts rufous. Florida, a straggler from the West Indies dominxcensis
Hobbies: Tarsus longer than middle toe without claw. Sexes alike ; young little different
Medium; wing 10.00 or more. (Rhynchofalco.) Juscicwrulescens
(Subgenus Hierofalco : Gyrfalcons or Jerfalcons.)
F. (H.) islan'dus. (Lat.
also islandicus, Icelaudic or
Icelandish ; the word does not
mean "of an island, insular,"
but "of Iceland," in Skandi-
naviau Islandsk, in Icelandic
Islenskr ; from the name of
the island, iu Skandinavian
and German called Island, in
Dutch Ijsland, from iss, ice,
and land, land.) White
Gyrfalcox. Iceland Ger-
falcon (in part). Green-
land Gyrfalcon. One of
the largest and most powerful
of the Falconince. Feet very
stout; tarsus rather longer
than middle toe and claw,
Fig. 456. —Prairie Falcon, § nat. size. (From life, by H. W. EUiott.) feathered fully half-way down
in front and on the sides, with only a narrow bare strip behind overlaid by the feathers; the bare
parts reticulate (not scutellate). Lateral toes of about equal lengths, without the claws, one
of which is larger than the other. Wing pointed by 2d quill, supported nearly to the end by
FALCOXID.E—FALCONTN.E: FALCONS.
6G5
Fig. 457. — A
(From Michelet.)
' noble " Falcon.
the 3d, the 1st ratlier shorter than 3d, and alone decidedly einarginate on inner web. Adult
^ 9- White — wiiite as a Snowy Owl. Head and all under parts iininacuLite white, or with
only a few dark touches on the top and sides of the head, — -
and on the tianks and flags. Back, wings, and tail white,
more or less profusely marked with dusky (slaty-black) bars,
crescents, arrow-heads, or transverse spots; amount of these
dark markings about as in an average Snowy Owl. Bill
bluisli, darker at tip ; cere, edges of eyelids, and feet chrome-
yellow ; claws blue-black ; iris brown. Bill and claws finally
growing whitish. Length of ^ about 2'.2.00 ; wing 14.00-
15.00; tail 9.00; bill 0.9.5; tarsus 2.40; middle toe with-
out claw 2.00. 9: Length about 23.50; wing 15.50-10.50 ;
tail 10.00. Young: Not very diflereut from tlie adults;
prevailing color still white, but more heavily marked with
dark brown, tending to lengthwise spots on both upper and
under parts. The e.\-treme form in the subgenus Hierofalco,
seeming to be specifically distinct from the ne.xt, in general
recognizable at a glance, though some puzzling specimens
occur; of circumpolar distribution, breeding only in very high
latitudes: range in America from Greenland to Behring Sea,
S. irregularly in winter: in the U. S. (except Alaska) only
known to reach nortliern Maine ; in Europe reachiug Ice-
land frequently, tiie British Islands rarely. Nest on cliffs;
eggs 3-4, about 2.30 X I -HO, with the whitish ground so
heavily overlaid witli ditferent shades of reddish-brown as to
ap])ear almost uniformly of that color, with some b(dder spots of darker brown. It is unfortu-
nate ttiat the white j)olar Gyrfalcon was first described from and named for the island of Ice-
land, which is not its home ; but so it happened, and the rectification of synonymy, which was
in a state of dire confusion in the subgenus
Hierofalco, involves an entirely " new deal "
in the names of the two species (one of them
with two subspecies) which were correctly
discriminated under other names in the 2d-
4th eds. of the Key: see Auk, Apr. 18!?5,
)i[). 184-188. The principal synonymy of
the present species is: Gerfdiilt yyrfalco
Biiiss. i. 1760, i>. 370, pi. 30, fig. 2. F.
Fio. 4r,8. — Pereprine Falcon, greatly reduced. (From ixhoulus BlU'NN. Oril. Bor. 17(j4, J). 2, in-
Tenney, alter Wilson.) eluding this species and the uext one. F.
islfoulus Fahric. Kij. Groenl. 1780, p. 58, proi>erly restricted to the present sin^cies. /•'.
gyrfulco Boon. Tabl. 1783, ]>. 20, based on V\. Enliim. No. 440. F. tslandiis, vars. tilbus and
macitlatus G.M. 1788, j). 271, and /•'. candicans, ]>. 275. the latter being tlie name which most
authors have used, including mystdf. F. iskmdicKs Lath. Ind. Orn. i, I7!»0, p. '.^2 \ figured
uinler this name by AtniliON, folio pi. ;l(i(j, o<'tavo pi. 11>. F. (jrn'tdnndicns TruT. Sy.>it.
Nat. i, 1800, ]i. 147. Fulco {llieroffdcu) gijrfidco s-.w. atudiani.< Kiuiav. in Baiud, Bhf.w.
and Kii)(;\v. Hist. N. .\. B. iii. l.-'74. ]>. 108. llieroftdco holhoclli Siiaupk. Cat. B. Brit. Mus.
i. b-71. pi |;{_,,pp(r ti-. .mly. It is Kid.iw. No. 412, C.rKS. No. :>{)]. \. O. V. N-. :r,.'{.
K (H.) rusti'eoliis. (LiniiMMn Latin, iin-aiiin^ a countryman, a rustic; tin- ju-tiprr Lat.
w'MiliI be ntricotii, fmni nts, i;rnitivc nais, antl valeir, to inhabit ; inmla, an inhabitant.)
Linn;eus uses a like tnrm of tlic wnnl fur the Won.icock, which he called Sioltijxix rusticolu
666 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
instead of ruricola. There is, however, the good Lat. rusticns, rustic, rural, and rusticari, to
rusticate, live iu the country.) Gray Gvrfalcon. Iceland Gyrfalcon (in part). Form
strictly as in the preceding. Adult ,$ 9 '■ Not white, but gray, with darker markings. Above,
pale bluish-gray, with dark bars, crescents, or transverse spots in about equal amounts or
rather in excess, on the back, wdngs and tail, but on the head and hind neck the light color
prevailing ; crown thus decidedly lighter than back, owing to amount of white or whitish
streaking (reverse of the case in the next subspecies). Bars of tail well marked, the light ones
gray or grayish-white, especially the terminal one, the dark ones slate-gray, each about as
broad as the other. Under parts white, in tone decidedly lighter than the upper parts, being
moderately striped, streaked, or spotted with the dark color of the back on the sides, flanks,
flags, and crissum, the latter never immaculate; slight dark mustaches; cere, eyelids and feet
yellowish ; bill bluish, yellow at base ; iris dark brown ; bill and feet never whitening. Size not
appreciably different from that of the foregoing ; same difference between the sexes. Young:
Lacking distinct cross-bars on the upper parts, where the color is dark, with merely lighter
edgings of the feathers, and some spotting with whitish, often of a butfy shade, on the back,
wing-coverts, and outer webs of the quills. No bars or transverse dark markings on the
lower parts, where the dusky appears in lengthwise streaks of variable size and number,
usually narrower than the light ground color. Bill, cere, eyelids, and feet colored much alike,
not yellow or whitish. This is the stock-form of the subgenus Hierofalco ; it cannot be mis-
taken for the foregoing, in any plumage, but is very near the next, often hardly distinguish-
able. The best mark is : Head and neck lighter than the l)ack in this typical form ; head and
neck darker than the back in gyrfalco. True rusticolus inhabits tlie Arctic regions of Europe,
Asia, and America, including Iceland and southern portions of Greenland, breeding throughout
such range, and coming irregularly S. iu winter to the N. border of the U. S. ; it nests on cliflFs,
like the White Gyrfalcon, and the eggs are indistinguishable. Following is its synonymy, in
part : Gerfault (Vlslande, Gyrfalco islandicus Briss. Orn. i, 1760, p. 733, pi. 31. Falco rus-
ticolus LiXN. S. N. 10th ed. X, 17.58, p. 88; 12th ed. 17GG, p. 125 ; Fabric. Fn. Groenl. 1780,
p. 55; Gm. S. N. 1788, p. 2G8 ; Lath. Ind. Orn. i, 1790, p. 28. F. islandus Brunn. Orn.
Bor. 1764, p. 2, including this species and the foregoing one ; Gm. S. N. i, 1788, p. 271 ;
Hierofalco islandus Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i, 1874, p. 414. F.fuscus Fabric. Fn. Groenl.
1780, p. 56. F. gyrfalco Bodd. Tabl. 1783, p. 13, based on PI. Enlum. No. 210. F. can-
dicans var. islandicus Gm. S. N. 1788, p. 275. F. islandicus Daudin, Orn. ii, 1800, p. 100,
and of most authors, including myself. F. groenlandicus Daudin, Orn. ii, 1800, p. 127. F.
arcticus HolboU. Zeitschr. Ges. Nat. iii, 1854, p. 426. F. holboelU Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873,
p. 415, and Hierofalco holboelU Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i, 1874, p. 415, at least in part.
F. sacer var. islandicus Coues, Key, 1872, p. 213. Falco (Hierofalco) gyrfalco var. islandicus
RiDGW^. in Bd. Brew, and Ridgw. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 108. F. gyrfalco-candicans and
F. eandicans-gyrfalco, Seebohm, Brit. B. i, 1883, p. 16. — This species is Ridgw. No. 412 o,
Coues, No. 500, A. 0. U. No. 3.54
F. (H.) r. gyrfalco. (Gyrfalcon is tlie worst, gerfalcon the better, jerfalcon the best, spelling
of the name, if we regard the etymology of the word, which was formerly in English also ger-
faidcon, gerfaucon, gerfawcon, jerfaucon, gierfalcon, girefaucon, gyrfacoim, gerfauTc, etc., with
many identical or similar forms in other European languages : see the list given nwAe.y gerfalcon
in the Century Dictionary, where it is stated that the first element of the word is not connected
with Lat. gyrus, a gyration, circle, but with German geier, greedy. The wlicde M^ord is identical
with the Lat. hierofalco, now the technical subgeneric name, meaning literally " sacred falcon,"
from Gr. Upoi, hieros, sacred, and Lat. falco, a falcon ; adapted from Gr. Upa^, hierax, a falcon,
now the technical name of another genus of jPafcomc^rt;.) Brown Gyrfalcon. American
(and European) Continental Gyrfalcon. Norwegian Gyrfalcon. Closely resem-
bling the last, and the distinctimi not very apparent ; darker, age for age, than the foregoing ;
FA L CONID.E — FA LCONIN.E : FA L CONS. 667
top of head and back of neck darker instead of lighter tlian other upper parts, the crown often
plain dusky ; barring of back and wing-coverts indistinct, the dark there prevailing over the
light markings ; under ])arts never whitey tliroughout, much obscured witli gray, and heavily
marked with blackish on the sides, flanks, flags, and crissum ; lieavy blackish moustaches ;
tail closely barred with light and dark bands of about equal widths. J wing 13.50-14.50 ;
tail 8.50-9.50 ; 9 wing 15.00-1 (5.00; tail 9.00-10.00; dimensions thus not distinctive. Young
darker than the adults ; at an early stage, some of the light markings tmgcd with ochraceous.
This is the ordinary Gerfalcon of continental America, also found in Greenland, and in-
separable from that of continental Europe; it inhabits Arctic America from Labrador to Alaska
(probably never reaching as high latitudes as islandus) in the breeding season, and ranges
freely S. in winter over the border of the U. S., sometimes reaching southern New England,
the Middle States, Kansas, etc. It abounds in its summer home, mostly N. of kit. 65°, where
it breeds, and preys on hares, Grouse, Ptarmigan, Ducks, Auks, etc. The nest is built in a tree
or on a cliff", indiff"erently, of sticks, twigs, mosses, grasses, feathers, etc, and the eggs are laid
from the middle of May to that of June; eggs 3-4, with the usual variation in size, shape,
and color, indistinguishable from those of other Gerfalcons; they range from 2.25 to 2.50 long
X 1-70 to 1.90 broad, and are usually heavily colored with reddish and brownish pigments in
interminable variation, to an extent which almost entirely hides the ground color. Principal
synonyms: F. gi/rfaJco Linn. S. N. 10th ed. 1758, ]). 91 ; 12th ed. 1766, p. 130, and of most
authors. F. sacer Forster, Philos. Trans. Ixii, 1772, p. 382. F. sacer, var. /3, Gm. S. N.
1788, p. 273 (from Forster). F. sacer Cassin, IJ. Cal. 1853, p. 89, in part (includes islandus,
as above, and lahradora. as below ; excludes rusticolus, as above). F. sacer var. gyrfalco
COUES, Key, 1872, p. 213. Falco (Hierofalco) gyrfalco, var. sacer and var. gyrfalco Ridgw.
in Bd. Brew, and IIidgw. Hist. X. A. B. iii, 1874, pp. 108, 115. F. sacer Coues, Key,
2d ed. 1884, p. 532, name restricted to the present subspecies. F. rusticolus gyrfalco Stej.
Auk, Apr. 1885, p. 187. — This subspecies is Ridgw. No. 412 h, Coues No. 498, A. 0. U.
No. 354 a.
F. (H.) r. obsole'tus. (Lat. ohsoletus, unwonted ; obsolete, as the pattern of coloration is in
this case.) Black Gvrfalcon. Labrador Gyrfalcon. A dark phase of the last, al-
most entirely dusky, the usual markings nearly obliterated; from the foggy coast of Labradoi,
where it breeds on cliff's, .S. in winter to New England and New York. In extreme cases it is
quite black, unmarked. There is no difference in measurements, and the eggs are indistin-
guishable. I suspect the truth to be, in respect to all the Gyrfalcons, that there is but a single
circumpolar species ; that with specimens enough an uninterrupted series could be established
connecting tlie blackest " ohsoletus" with the whitest " caudicans '' ; and that the races which
most ornith(dogists recognize, are not coincident with geographical areas. F. holboelli of Mr.
Sharpe appears to be somewhat of a connecting link between the two species now generally
considered distinct. But I defer in this case to those who have formed the contrary opinion,
upon further investigation of the subject than I have made. F. ohsoletus, G\n. Syst. Nat. 1788,
p. 268. F. labr((dora, Aud. f(dio jd. 196, ])ub. about 1834. Falco (Hierofalco) sacer, var.
labradora Ridgw. in Bd. Buew. and Hidgw. Hist. N. A. li. iii, 1874, p. 108 and p. 117.
F. sacer ohsoletus CouE.s, Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. 532. F. rusticolus ohsoletus Stej. Auk, 1885,
p. 187. Ridgw. No. 412 c, Coues, No. 499, A. 0. U. No. 354 b.
F. (H.) mexica'nus. (Liit. vie.vicanus, 'Slcxk-a.n. Figs. 456, 459.) American Laxxeu Fal-
con. Prairie Falcon. A medium-sized species, distinguished from any Gyrfalcon by smaller
size, different feathering of tarsus, etc.; from the Hnck Hawk by mnch lighter c<dor, which is
dull brownisii above instead of dark slate, etc. Adult ^ 9- I'i>pi'i' parts l)rownish drab, each
feather with a paler border of brown, grayish, or whitish; top of head more uniform, occiput
and nape showing more whitish. Under parts white, everywiiere excepting tui throat marked
with firm spots of dark brown, most linear on breast, then more broadly oval on belly, enlarg-
668
5 VS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. —RAP TORES — A CCIPI TRES.
ing and tending to merge into bars on tlanks, very sparse or obsolete on crissuni, in maxillary
region forming a broad firm moustache ; these markings corresponding with ground color of
upper parts. Primaries ashy-brown, with narrow but firm pale edging of outer webs and ends ;
inner webs regularly marked with
white in form of barred indents
or circumscribed spots, most nu-
merous and regular on the outer
few primaries ; the white tinged
with fulvous, next to the shafts ;
outer web of 1st primary either
plain, or with whitish indents as
in lanarius; outer webs of sec-
ondaries more or less marked
with fulvous ; axillars plain dark
brown ; lining of wings otherwise
white, spotted with dark brown.
Tail pale brownish-gray, nearly
uniform, but with white tip, and
more or less distinct barring or
indenting with whitish, especially
on lateral feathers, producing a
pattern not unlike that of pri-
maries. Bill mostly dark bluish
horn-color, but its base, and much
of under mandible, yellow ; feet
yellow. Young birds have more
fulvous in the dark ground of the
upper parts; are more heavily
spotted below, and the white is
there tinged with buff or ochrey;
feet plumbeous. Size very vari-
able : $ about 18.00 ; extent
40.00; wing 12.00-13.00; tail
7.00-8.00; tarsus about 2.00;
middle toe witliout claw about
the same ; chtird of culmen, in-
cluding cere, 1.00. 9 larger:
wing 13.00-14.00 ; tail 8.00-9.00. etc, A noble species, representing the Old World Lanner
and Jugger, abundant in western U. S., especially on the Plains; E. occasionally to Illi-
nois; S. into Mexico. I have traced it from Montana at lat. 49° to Arizona and 8. California,
and found it very numerous in Wyoming, where it is the characteristic species of its genus.
In the region first named it was nesting on cliffs, and such is its wont everywhere, in the
woodless regions it inhabits, where the faces of cut banks of streams, generally precipitous and
often of great height, are the ordinary resorts for nidification for Eagles, Ferruginous and
Swainson's Buzzards, and various other Birds of Prey; in forested country, however, the Lanner
will sometimes take to a tree. The breeding season is mostly April and May, but extends
from March to June. Eggs 3-5, from 2.05 to 2.25 X 1-55 to 1.65, white or creamy-whitish,
irregularly but usually thickly clouded, mottled, and blotched with reddish-brown; often
with a purplish shade ; thus indistinguishable from those of related species. (F. pohjagrus
Cass.)
Fig. 450. —Lanner Falcon, ', nat. .sizi- ; not distingiiislialile in the cut
from the Prairie Falcon. (From Brehm.)
FALCOXID.E — FALCON IN Ji: ; FALCONS.
669
(Subgenus Rhyxchodon: Peregrines.)
F. (R.) peregrinus an'atum. (U\t. j^eregrinus, wandering ; atiatum, genitive plural of anas,
a duck. Fig. 4G0.) Ameuican Peregrine Falcon. DuckHa\yk. Great-footed Hawk.
A medium-sized Falcon, about as large as the foregoing, but kuinvu at a glance from any bird
of N. Am. by slaty-plumbeous or dark bluish-ash of upper parts, black "moustache," and
other marks, taken with its particular size and shape. Wings stiff, long, thin, pointed by 'Zd
quill, supported nearly to its tip by 1st and 8.1; 1st alone abrui)tly emarginate on inner web,
about 2 inches from tip ; none cut on outer webs. Tomium of upper mandible strongly toothed,
of under mandible deeply notched. Tarsus feathered but a little way down in front, otherwise
Fig. 400. - Peregrine Falcon, or Duck Hawk, i nat. size. (From Urehm.)
entirely reticulate; toes very long, giving great grasp to tlie talons. Adult S 9 : Above, rich
dark bluisli-ash or slate-coh.r, — very variable, sometimes quite slaty-blackish, again much
lighter bhiish-slate; the tint pretty uniform, wliatevcr it may be, over all upper parts, but all
tlie featliers with somewhat paler e.iges, ami the larger ones for the m..st part ..bscurely barred
with liglit.'r an.l darker hues. Under parts at large varying from nrarly i-.uv white to a peculiar
muddy^.utf c.dor of ditt-.'rent de-rers ..f intensity ; thn.at and breast usually frc fro.n markings
(or only with a few sharp sliaft-penciUings) ; this white ..r light coh.r mounting .m auricnlars,
so that it partly isolates a blackish moustache from blackish of si.h' of head; under parts, ex-
cept as said, inclu.ling under wing- and tail-ci.verts. closely and n^irularly barred, ..r l.-ss closely
and more irregularly spotted, with bla.-kisli ; bars best pronounced on Hanks, tibi:e, and cnssum,
670 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
other parts tending to spotting, which may extend forward to invade breast (this is the rule in
European birds, or true 2ieregrinus ; the exception, though not a rare one, in American birds,
of the subspecies anatiim). Tail and its upper coverts regularly and closely barred with black-
ish and ashy-gray, the interspacing best marked on inner webs, and all the feathers narrowly
tipped with white or whitish. Primaries uniform blackish on their exposed surfaces, but on
inner webs marked with numerous regular and close-set spots of white, whitish, or muddy buff,
for the most part isolated within the webs, but on inner primaries and secondaries, and toward
bases of all, becoming or tending to become bars reacliing edge of feather. Bill blue-black;
cere and much of base of bill yellow ; feet yellow ; claws blackish. Size very variable ; length
of a good-sized 9 I'J.OO; extent 45.00; wing 14.50; tail 7.00. ^ averaging smaller; wing
12.50; tail 6.00; a usual range, sex not considered, is, wing 11.50-14.00; tail 6.00-8.00;
tarsus 1.75-2.10; middle toe without claw rather more. Young: Eecognizably similar to
adults in general characters ; not barred below, but there more or less extensively and heavily
streaked lengtliwise ; upper parts brownish or blackish, in either case without the glaucous
bloom and appearance of transverse markings which the adults show, the variegation being
chiefly in light gray or rusty edgings of individual feathers. This Falcon is the central figure
in the whole genus, and in one or another of its geographical guises is cosmopolitan; it is uni-
versally but irregularly distributed in N. Am., scarcely to be considered common anywhere;
breeds S. to S. Carolina on the Atlantic side, still farther S. in the West, usually in mountainous
regions ; nests on cliffs, niches of " cut banks," or in hollows in high trees ; eggs usually 3-4,
2.00 to 2.25 X 1-50 to 1.70, averaging about 2.10 X 1-65 ; white or whitish, spotted, blotched,
wreathed, clouded, etc., with reddish-browns, from chocolate or even purplish to the ochres;
they are in general so heavily and uniformly pigmented as to hide the ground color, and aver-
age among the darkest eggs of our Falconidce; they are mostly laid in April and May, but
the season extends through June in high latitudes. The Peregrine is a bird of noted prowess,
habitually striking a quarry as large as itself or larger, as Grouse, Ducks, Herons, hares, etc.
F. (K.) p. peal'ei. (To Titian R. Peale.) Peale's Peregrine. A dark form, described
from the N. W. coast. Adults with upper parts dark .slate-color ; top of head like back; breast
heavily spotted with blackish, and broad dusky bars on other under ]iarts. Young without
rusty margins of upper parts, the lower sooty blackish, streaked with pale buff. Pacific Coast
region from Oregon to the Aleutian and Commander islands, breeding throughout this range.
Queried as a subspecies in 2d-4th eds. of the Key, p. 536, but probably entitled to recognition
as such, like the dark local I'aces of this region in many other cases. Falco eommimis var,
pealei Ridgvv^. Bull. Essex Inst, v, Dec. 1873, p. 201 ; Bd. Brew, and RinoAV. Hist. N. A,
Birds, iii, 1874, p. 129; F. peregrinus piealei Ridgw. Proc U. S. Nat. Mus. iii, Aug. 1880,
p. 192; A. 0. U. Lists, 1st and 2d eds. 1886 and 1895, No. 356 a.
(^Subgenus ^ salon: Merlins.)
F. (2E..) columba'rius. (Lat. columbarius, a pigeon-fancier. Fig. 461.) Pigeon Hawk
(a name also applied to Accipiter fusciis). Smaller than any of the foregoing; about size of
Aceipiter fuscus, but much stouter and differently proportioned. Tarsus mostly with a double
row of alternating scutella in front, feathered but a little way down ; middle toe without claw
nearly as long as tarsus. Tail about § the wings, lightly rounded. Wings pointed by 2d and
3d quills, 1st about equal to 4th; 1st and 2d emarginate on inner webs near end; 2d and
3d sinuate on outer webs. Sexes unlike; old ^ bluish above, ? and young dark there.
Old (^ : Above, some shade of bluish, from pale bluish-gray or bluish-ash to dark bluish-
slate, each feather pencilled with a fine black shaft-line. Tail banded with color of upper
parts and black, the subterminal black band broadest, all subject to much variation; tail
tijtped with white. Primaries blackish, witli lighter edges or tijis, and numerous oval trans-
FALCON ID.E — FALCONIN.E: FALCONS.
671
verse spots of white or whitish on inner webs; outer webs often showing traces of ashy
markiui^s; a similar pattern continued on secondaries. Under parts wliite, or whitish, gener-
ally pure and immaculate on throat, elsewhere tinged with tawny or ochraceous, almost every-
where longitudinally streaked witli dark umber-brttwn ; the individual streaks very variable in
size and distinctness, generally blackish-shafted, as a rule heavy and thick on breast, more
strict on flags and vent, changing to spots or even bars on flanks; these latter markings
sometimes involved in a bluish clouding. Side of head with fine dark pencilling on a light or
whitish ground, not gathered into a maxillary stripe, but C(.)alescing on ear-coverts; a })retty
well-defined light superciliary streak ; markings of side of head confluent on nape, forming a
nuchal band which interrupts continuity of color of upper parts. Iris brown; feet yellow;
claws and most of bill bluish-black; cere and base of bill greenish-yellow. This plumage is
comparatively seldom seen. Length about 11.00; extent about 23.50; wing 7.50-8.00; tail
Fig. 4(51. — Pigeon Hawk.
5.00-5.50; tarsus 1..35; middle toe without claw 1.25. Adult 9 » ''^i"l specimens of either sex,
as usually observed: Pattern of coloration as before, but ujijier parts and tail quite ditterent.
Above, the blui.sh shade replaced by dark umber-brown, nearly uniform, or only interrupted by
the nuchal band of streaks, but feathers usually with ap[»reciahly paler edges and black sliaft-
lines, the latter especially on head. Tail like back, and tipped with white, and crosse<l by
about 4 other narrow whiti.sh or light ochraceous bauds, formed of bars or transverse spots on
both webs of the feathers ; uppermost of these bands lying under the coverts; generally only 3
exposed ones, besides the terminal one; intervenintj dark zones all of about the same width,
say 1.00, hut subterrninal one usually rather wider than the others. Pattern of quill-
feathers as in ^ , but spots rather tawny or fulvous than whitish. Under parts as l)efore, but
ground color ranixiui; from nearly white to ([uite rich buff or even fulvous, and showiui,' a wiile
range of variation in heaviue.ss of streaking. Leni^th of 9 about 12.50; extent almut 20.50 ;
wing 8.00-ri.50; tail 5..">(> (I.OO. In quite young birds. eiiiiinL's <if f.itli.r- t>f upper parts may
672
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — RA P TORES — A CCIPI TRES.
be tawny or rufous. A spirited little Falcon, generally distributed in N. Am., common, repre-
sentine the Merlin t)f Europe, F. regidm. Nests chiefly nortlierly, on branches or in holes in
trees, or on rocks, April-June; eggs commonly 4 or 5, ranging in size and shape from 1.50
to 1.80 X 1-25, some being subspherical, others elongate-oval. The coloration ranges from
Fig. 4G2. — American Sparrow Hawk.
nearly uniform deep rich brown (chestnut or burnt sienna) to whitish or white, only marked
with a few in.listinct dots of dull grayish or drab. Such extremes are connected by every
degree; a yellowisli-brown ground-color, irregularly splashed with rich ruddy brown, is the
usual style. The markings may be very evenly distributed, or mostly gathered in a wreath
FA LCOXID.E —FAL CONIX.E : FA L CONS. 673
around one or the other end, or even both ends. The quarry is chieHy birds, even up to the
size of a Ptarmigan.
F. {JE.) c. suck'leyi. (To Dr. Geo. Suckley.) Suckley's Pigeon Hawk. Black Meki.in.
Size of the last; general coloration blackish; thn.at of $ streaked with black, the rest of
lower surface brownish-black with tawny and whitish markings; lower parts of adult ? and
young $ heavily marked with dusky. Barring or spotting of wings indistinct or (dis(dete, also
of tail in 9 , exx-ept the terminal liglit tail-bar. N. W. coast region, N. California to S. Alaska,
and E. in Oregon and Wasiiington. A dark form of F. columbarias, formerly queried in Key, l)Ut
wliicli has proved entitled to subspecitic recognition. Falco columharius var. siicklei/i Riuow.
Bull. Essex Inst, v, Dec. 1873, p. 201 ; A. 0. U. Lists, 1st and 2d eds. 1886 and 1895, No. .'J57 a;
F. lithofako var. suckleyi, Bu. Brew, and Ridgw. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 143.
F. (>E.) rich'ardsoiii. (To Sir J. Richardson.) Richardson's PiGEOX Hawk. American
Merlin. "Adult ^ : Upper plumage, dull eartli-brown, eacii feather grayish-umber centrally,
and with a conspicuous black shaft-line. Head above, approaching ashy-white anteriorly, tlie
black shaft-streaks being very conspicuous. Secondaries, primary-coverts, and primaries, mar-
gined terminally with dull white ; the primary-coverts with two transverse series of pale ochra-
ceous spots; primaries, with spots of the same, corresponding with those of the inner webs.
Upper tail-coverts, tipped and spotted beneath the surface with wliite. Tail, clear drab, much
lighter than the primaries, but growing darker terminally, having basally a slightly ashy cast,
crossed with six sharply defined perfectly continuous bands (the last terminal) of ashy-white.
Head frontally, laterally, and beneath — a collar round the nape (interrupting the brown above)
— and entire lower parts, white, somewhat ochraceous, this most perceptible on the tibiae;
cheeks and ear-coverts with sparse, fine, hair-like streaks of black ; nuchal collar, jugulum,
bre.ist, abdomen, sides, and tiauks with a median linear stripe of clear ochre-brown on each
feather ; these stripes broadest on tlie Hanks ; each stripe with a conspicuous black shaft-streak ;
tibiae and lower tail-coverts with fine shaft -streaks of brown, like the broader stripes of the other
portions. Chin, and throat, only, immaculate. Lining of the wings spotted with ochraceous-
white and brown, in about equal amount, the former in spots approaching the shaft. Inner
webs of i)rimaries with transverse broad bars of pale ochraceous — eight on the longest. Wing
7.70; tail .").00; cuhnen 0.50; tarsus 1.30; middle toe 1.25; outer 0.85; inner 0.70; posterior
0..50. Adult 9 : Differing in coloration from the male only in the points of detail. Ground-
color of the upper parts clear grayish-drab, the feathers with conspicuously black shafts; all
the feathers with pairs of rather indistinct rounded ochraceous spots, these most conspicuous on
the wings and scapulars. Secondaries crossed with three bands of deeper, more reddish-ochra-
ceous. Bands of the tail, pure white. In other respects e.vactly like the male. Wing t>.00;
tail 6.10; culmen 0.55; tarsus 1.40; middle toe 1.50; Young $ : Differing from the adult only
in degree. Upper surface with the rusty borders of the feathers more washed over the general
surface; the rusty ochracectus forming the ground-coh)r of the head, — paler anteriorly, where
tile black shaft-streaks are very conspicuous; spots on the primary coverts and priuiaries deep
reddish ochraceous; tail-bands broader than in the adult and more reddish ; the terminal one
twice as broad as the rest (0.40 of an inch), and almo.«<t cream color. Beneath pale ochraceous.
tliis deepest on the breast and sides; markings as in \\\i' adult, but anal region and lower tail-
coverts immaculate; the .shaft-streaks on the tibije, ahso, scarcely (liscerniblc. Wing 7.00 ;
tail 4.60." (Ridgway.) Interior N. Am., esjtecially from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mts.,
but also extending to the Pacific, and from the region of the Saskatdiewan to the Mexican
border; very near columharius, both being closely related to F. retjulus, the fewer bars on the
wiuirs and tail a])parently tlie principal diaracter; and in this respect lichunlsnui seems to bo
exactly interme<liate bitween voliinihdiius and rcfjiilus, with a tail-band mori' tlian the former,
and with fewer tiian tlie latter. A 9 I tooli in Daiiota measures : lengtli 12.75; extent 26.75 ;
wintr 8.50.
43
674
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
F. {2E.) reg'ulus. (Lat. a little king, a kinglet, dim. of rex, king.) Pallas' Pigeon
Hawk. EuRorEAN Merlin. Size and proportions of the speoies last described ; markings
of tail and wings more numerous and less firm. Adult $ : Middle tail-feathers crossed by
about six imperfect dark bars, in addition to the broad subtermiual baud. Adult 9 and young
$ : These tail-feathers crossed by about eight light bars, including the terminal one. {F. regii-
lus Pallas, Reise Russich. Reichs. ii, 1773, p. 707; F. asalon Tunstall, Orn. Brit. 1771,
p. 1, and of most authors. Accipiter merillus Gerini, Orn. 17(37, i, p. 51, pis. xviii, xix.) This
well-known European and Asiatic Falcon, belonging to the subgenus ^salon, is recorded as
accidental at sea oft" Greenland. See Kumleix, Auk, Oct. 1887, p. 345; CouES, Key, 4th ed.
1890, p. 904; A. O. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [358. 1.].
(/S^ft^enMs Tinnunculus: Kestrels.)
F. (T.) tinnun'culus. (Lat. a small kind of Hawk, perhaps this species.) European
Kestrel or Windhover. The type of this section of the genus, and in general resembling
our Sparrow Hawk as next described. Adult ^ : Above, slate-gray, including the tail, the
latter with a broad black subtermiual band and white tip, the head with dusky shaft-lines, the
back rufous, spotted with black ; quills dusky with light edgings ; below, fawn-colored fir buff,
more rufous on the ftanks and crissum, spotted on the belly and streaked on the breast with
dusky ; tail viewed from below grayish-white. Bill bluish ; cere, orbits, and feet yellow ;
claws black; iris brown. 9 ^^tid Jf'ung above reddish-brown, barred with black. ^ ^ :
Length about 12.50; wing 9.00; tail 6.50. This well-known bird of Europe and Asia has
been detected as a straggler in Massachusetts. See Cory, Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 110, and A]m\,
1888, p. 205; CouES,lvey, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [359. 1.].
F. (T.) sparve'rius. (Lat. SjMrvenus, a sparrower. Figs. 462, 463, 464.) American
Kestrel or Windhover. Rusty-crowxed Falcon. Sparrow Hawk. Smallest of our
Falconince; sexes unlike in color, but of nearly the same size, contrary to the rule in this fam-
ily. Tail rounded, at least f as long as the wing, usually
more. Wings pointed by 2d and 3d quills ; 1st about equal to
4th ; 1st and 2d emarginate on inner webs near end ; 2d and
3d sinuate on outer webs. Tarsus feathered but a little way
down in front, decidedly longer than middle toe without claw,
usually surpassing middle toe and claw. Young differing
less than usual from adults of their respective sexes. Adult
^ 9 • Crown ashy-blue, with a chestnut patch, sometimes
small or altogether wanting, sometimes occupying nearly all
the crown. Conspicuous black maxillary and auricular
patches which, with 3 others around nape, make 7 places in
all, usually evident, but some of them often obscure or wanting. Back cinnamon-rufous, or
chestnut, like the cnnvn-patch, in ^ with a few black spots or none, in 9 "'ith numerous black
bars. Wing-coverts of ^ fine ashy-blue, like crown, with or without black spots; of 9 cin-
namon-rufous and black-barred, like back. Quill feathers in ^ 9 blackish, usually with pale
edges and tips, and inner webs with numerous white indentations, or bars continuous along
inner webs, leaving black chiefly in a series of dentations proceeding from shafts ; ends of secon-
daries usually also slaty-blue like coverts. Tail bright chestnut, in ^ with white tip, broad
black subtermiual zone, and outer feathers mostly white with several black bars; in 9 whole
tail with numerous imperfect black bars. Under parts white, variously tinged with bufi" or
tawny, in ^ with a few black spots or none, in 9 with many dark brown streaks ; throat and
vent usually immaculate. Bill dark horn ; cere and feet yellow or orange. Length, either
sex, 10.00-11.00; extent 20.00-23.00; win^ 6.50-8.00; tail 4.50-6.00; tarsus 1.35; middle toe
Fio. 4G3. — Sparrow Hawk, nat. size.
(Ad. nat. del. E. C.)
FA L COXID.E — FAL COXING : FA L CONS.
675
without claw 1.00. The j'oung do not require to be separately described, as the species is a
strongly marked one, and as the young speedily acquire recDirnizable sexual characters. Tliey
may be distinguished when just from the
nest; their first covering is white down.
Temperate N. Am., very abundant.
Despite its great variation in niai'kiugs,
aside from the normal sexual differences,
tliis elegant little Falcon will be imme-
diately recognized by the subgeneric
characters of Imnunctihis, its small size,
and entirely peculiar coloration. Its
characteristic habit is to ho\er or ])oise
in the air over some object which seems
to promise a meal, and then pounce
down upon the prey; whence the name
" Windhover" for the corresponding Eu-
rojieaii species. Tlie birds are very
ivctive and noisy during the breeding sea-
son. They build no nest, but lay in
hollows of trees, often deserted Wood- i'^^- it-4.-Spanow Ua«k, Florida, uat. .ize. (L. A. Faerie..;
])eckers' hcdes, or similar nooks in rocks or about buildings, occasionally in a hole in the ground
of a cut bank, but very rarely occupy the open nest of some other bird. Eggs 3-7, mostly
4 or 5, nearly s]>heroidal, about 1.33 X 1.12; ground-c<dor usually buffy, or pale yellowish-
brown ; blotched all over witli dark brown, the splashes of which are usually largest and most
numerous toward the greater end, at or around whicli they may run into a crown or wreath.
Some eggs are pale brown, minutely dotted all ov(!r with dark brown ; some are white, with
pale brown spots; few are wliitish without any markings. They are laid from March to June
in different localities, and have even been found fresh in July and August.
Note. F. s. isabellinns, queried in the 2d-4th eds. of the Key, p. 5.'38, as "a middle
American form of the last, occurring in the Gulf States, and shading directly into sparcerius
l)roj)er," has been found untenable and dismissed from all further consideration. In its stead
we have now to admit two other subspecies ol sparverius which have secured the apjiroval of
tiie A. 0. U. Committee, but which may not impossibly hereafter follow isdbellinus into the
limbo of unidentifiable or unverifiable races of a single well-known species: see Auk, July,
1892, pp. 2.')2-270,
F. (T.) s. (leserti'eolus. (Lat. desertion, a desert, and colo, 1 iuliabit.) Desert Si'.vkkhw
Hawk. Larger than the average of sjyarverius proper, witli relatively longer tail ; paler, with
more rufous, and a larger crown patcli ; black bars on inner webs of the quills not crossing the
entire web, but forming serrations only: 9 witii tlie dark bars of the upper parts narrower,
and those of the tail more often incomph'te. Described as " a desert form from the treeless
regions of the Southwest." Meauxs, Auk, July, 181t2, ]). 2(i3; range given as "Western
T'. S., N. to eastern British Ccdnndjia and western Montana, S. to Mazatlan in nortliwestern
Mexico," in A. 0. IT. Li.st, 2d e<l. 18!)5, No. :iG{)a. It is a bird witli whidi I was fanuliar
thirty years ago in Arizona, but one which I did not suspect I should evi'r be callctl ui>on to
rrcognize by name.
F. (T.) s. peiiiii'sularis. (Lat. lu'ninsular. ) St. LfCAS Si'Ai;i;n\v Hawk. - A .lepaiiperate
insular [read peninsular] form, in which a diminution of the general size is accompanied by an
intrease in the size of the l)ill ; also charactcTized by jtallor of C(.Ioration. and decrease in the
extent of the black markings." Iris said to be ytdlow instead of hazel in thr 9 . Low.r Cali-
fornia. Meariis, /. c. ]>. '2(\7 : A. O. U. List. 2d .d. 18!).->, No. [m) b.
676 SYS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. —RAP TOR ES — AC CIPITRES.
F. (T.) dominicen'sis. (Lat. inhabiting the island of Dominique, or St. Domingo.) CUBAN
Sparrow Hawk. Closely related to F. sparverius, and generally similar, but apparently a
distinct species, in both of the two color-phases which it presents. Light phase (= F. domini-
censis proper). Adult <J: Above as in sparverius, but with little black spotting. CrovA'u usu-
ally without a rusty spot, being bluish like the wings; forehead broadly white; a conspicuous
white superciliary stripe ; maxillary stripes indistinct or obsolete ; under surfaces of quills white,
with dusky serrations in parts of tlieir extent only ; uuder parts white, unmarked, shaded with
pale rufous on the breast. Dark phase (= F. sparverioides) . Adult $ : Above, except tail
(which is as in sparverius), entirely dark plumbeous, with a blackish nuchal collar, and dusky
front and auriculars ; primaries and edges and subterminal portion of tail-feathers, black. Be-
neath, deep rufous (like the back of spiarverius) with a wash of plumbeous across jugulum ;
throat grayish-white. Inner webs of i^rimaries slaty, with transverse cloudings of darker. The
9 in either phase has the upper parts rufous brown, banded with blackish, the top of the head
bluish-gray or slate-gray, with or without a rufous patch ; the under parts ranging from pale
bufi", spotted or streaked with rusty brown, and white throat, to uniform chestnut-rufous, which
also colors the linings of the wings ; and dusky mottled inner webs of primaries. Cuba, Hayti
(Santo Domingo), and Porto Rico; casual in Florida. Previous editions of the Key have de-
scribed only the dark phase, which was supposed to be a different species from F. dominicensis
Gm., the light phase, which latter is also F. lencnphn/s Ridgway. The two are now united
under the earliest name. (A. 0. U. No. [361.]-)
(Subgenus Rhynchofalco.)
F. (R.) fuscicoerules'cens. (Lat. fiiscns, dark; cosrulescens , bluish.) Femoral Falcon.
Aplomado Falcon. Bill robust, with large cere; irregular scutellation of tarsus continuous
on the toes; tarsus a little longer than middle toe without claw ; 2cl and 3d quills longest ; 1st
about equal to 4th ; 1st and 2d emarginate on inner webs ; 2d and 3d sinuate on outer webs.
Size medium (among the smaller Falcons) ; form slender ; sexes alike. Adult ^ 9 • Above,
uniform plumbeous; tail with about 8 narrow white bars, and tipj)ed with white, as are the
secondaries; primaries with numerous narrow white bars on inner webs, mostly being isolated
transverse spots, reaching neithei' shaft nor inner edge of feathers; same pattern less definitely
continued on to secondaries. Side of head with a broad white or tawny postocular stripe, con-
tinuous wdth narrowly white forehead, shading into orange-brown on nape, where confluent
with its fellow; auriculais mostly white, set in black of side of head, but continuous with white
of throat, so that a black supra-auricular stripe meets a black mystacial stripe under eye.
Sides of body and a broad belly-band black, with or without numerous narrow white bars;
extent of this black very variable ; it usually leaves the breast white or tawny, but in younger
specimens the whole breast is streaked with black on a tawny ground. Throat usually white.
Lining of wings blacldsh, spotted with white, the border mostly white or tawny. Flanks,
flags, and crissum uniform tawny or orange-brown. Young sufliciently similar, but upper
parts rather dark brown than plumbeous. Lengtli J 5.00 or more; wing 10.00-11.00 ; tail
7.00-8.00; tarsus 1.75 ; middle toe without claw 1..50. A handsome Hawk, well-known and
wide-ranging in South and Central America, reaching over our Mexican border in southern
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Nest in trees or bushes ; eggs usually 3 in our country,
1.80 X 1 30, white, finely dotted with light brown, overlaid with blotches of dark brown, very
variable in pattern, as usual in this genus, laid in April and May with us. {F.femoralis (Temm.
1823) of the orig. ed. of the Key.)
FA L CONID.E — POL YBORIN.E : CAR A CA RA S.
677
Subfamily POLYBORIN/E: Caracaras.
Anatomical characters of Falconitice proper, in the scapular arrangement by which a pro-
cess of coracoid reaches clavicle, central tubercle of extensively ossified nasal bones, anterior
keel of palate, and superurbital shield in a single piece ; external characters very unlike those
of i^rtZco«i>itf?, and general aspect vulturine. Bill toothless. Sternum single-notched on each
side behind. Three or more primaries sinuate-einarginate on inner webs; 3d or 4th longest;
1st shorter than 5th. A small but remarkable group, combining some of the essential charac-
ters of Falcons with others more Vulture-like; the species are chiefly terrestrial, rather slug-
gish, and feed much on carrion. Tlie genera are Fohjhorus, FhalcohcBnus, Senex, Milvago,
Ibi/cter, and Daptrius, all confined to America.
POLY'BOKUS. (Gr. rroXv^opos, polyhuros, very voracious. Fig. 4G5.) Cauacaras.
QuKLELis. Bill long, high, much compressed, little hooked, commissure nearly straight to
deflected end ; cere miv ', ij.
ending anteriorly in
a nearly straight
vertical line ; nostril
high in front upper
corner of cere, lin-
ear, obli(|ue, its pos-
terior end upper-
most, its tubercle
concealed. Chin and
sides of head bristly,
extensively denuded ;
a naked pectoral
area; an occijjital
crest. Tibia; shortly
flagged. Tarsus
nearly twice as long
as middle toe with-
out claw almost en- Fio. 465. — The Caracara, i nat. size. (Krom Brehm.)
tirely naked, chiefly reticulate, but in front broadly scutellate in single or doul)le row; lateral
toes of about equal lengths; hind toe much the sliortest; claws long and little curved. Wings
very hnig, with .'3d and 4tb (piills longest, 2d and 5th next, 1st shorter than Gth or 7th ; outer
4 or 5 emarginate. Tail rounded, about § as long as wing. Comprising three species of large
Vulture-like carrion Hawks, of terrestrial lialdts, and ambulatorial, not saltatorial, gait, of tlie
warmer ])arts of America.
P. che'riway. (Probably tlie South American native name.) Audubon's Caracara.
Adult ^ 9- General color blackish, throat, neck all around, and more or less of fore back and
breast whitish, spotted, and chiefly barred with blackish ; upjierand under tail-coverts and most
of tail white, the hitter very numerously barred with blackish, of which color is the broad ter-
minal zone ; shafts white alontr white portion of each feather. Basal portion of jirimaries like-
wise barred with whitish. Bill variously pale colored ; cere carmine ; iris lirowii ; feet yellow ;
daws black; soft ])arts drying to a dingy indefinable color. Yoinii; similar, but rather brown-
ish ; markings of body in lengthwise streaks, not cross-bars; tail, however, barred. Len^'th
(cither sex) 21.00-125.00; extent about 48.00; winir I4..")0-I(i.50; tail H.(M)-IO.(H) ; tarsus
about ;}.()(); middle toe without claw 2.00; ciilmen l.."{5. I desi-ribe the North American bird,
which is much less extcnsiv<'ly barnd than that of South America. (See Cassin, Pr. IMiilu.
.\cad. IHr)5. ]>. 2 ) The difl'erence in several sjx-cimens handled is striking, nearly the whole
678 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
body, wings, and tail of the South Aineriran bird being inuhitudinously rayed across, while in
Texas and Florida specimens the body and wing-coverts are mostly uniform, the barring being
restricted to neck and fore half of body, and to primaries and tail-feathers. The bird is cer-
tainly different from P. thariis. P- lutosus is barred throughout, and otherwise different again.
S. border of U. S., Florida to Lower California and southward, common, in some places abun-
dant, gregarious like a Turkey Buzzard where offal is exposed. Nest bulky, in trees and
bushes, as palmettos, yuccas, mesquites, cactuses, etc., of sticks and leaves; eggs commonly 2,
often 3, broadly oval or subspherical, heavily colored with blotches and clusters of rich reddish-
brown and smaller blackish over-spots, usually obscuring the creamy white ground-color; size
2.20 to 2.40 by about 1.85; with us laid mostly in March and April, sometimes in February,
The long neck and legs of this bird, its terrestrial habits and walking powers, give it peculiar
character, almost suggesting Gi/por/eramis. Like our Vultures, it is a constant feature of the
scene in some southerly localities. (F. cheriwai/ Jacquin, Beitr. 1784, p. 17, pi. 4. P. cheri-
way Cab. 1848; A. 0. U. No. 362. P. hrasiliensis Aud. folio pi. 161 and 8vo pi. 4 ; not ot
Gm. 1788. P. tharus Cass. B. Cal. i, 1854, p. 113, and in Bd. B. N. A. 1858, p. 45; not of
MoLiNE, 1782. P. auduboni Cass. Pr. Phila. Acad. 1865, p. 2. P. tharus var. audubonii
CouKS, Key, 1872, p. 220. P. auduboni of 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 540.)
P. luto'sus. (Lat. lutosus, dirty, muddy; so called from the sordid coloration.) Guadalupe
Caracara. As stated in Key, 2d ed. p. 540, this species is quite distinct, nearly the whole
plumage being barred. " Scapulars plain dusky brown. Tibia? and flanks light isabella-color,
barred with dark brown. Wing-coverts (middle and greater) marked with wide bars of brown
and pale isabella-color, of equal width. Tail- coverts and rump with broad bars of light
isabella-color and grayish-brown. Tail with broad bars of pale isabella-color and grayish-
brown, separated by zigzag lines of dusky. Abdomen isabella-color, with small sagittate bars
of dark-brown." Wing 15.00-16.50; tail 10.50-11-50; bill 1.25-1.35; tarsus 3.50-3.75.
Guadalupe Island, Lower California. Ridgw. Bull. U. S. Geog. & Geol. Surv. 2d ser. No. 6,
Feb. 1876, p. 459; Man. 1887, p. 254; Coues, Key, 3d ed. 1887, p. 882, Lower California
and its islands having been meanwhile annexed ornithologically; A. 0. U. No. 363.
Subfamily BUTEONIN/E : Buzzards and Eagles.
Bill variable in size and shape, but without the toothing and notching of that of FalconincB
(with rare exceptions) ; cutting edge variously lobed or festooned, or simple. Nostrils not cir-
cular, nor with a central tubercle : nasal septum incompletely ossified. Superciliary shield
more or less prominent, usually consisting of two pieces. Scapular process of coracoid not
produced to meet clavicle. Wings and tail variable, but not pi-esenting special characters
noted under Falconince, nor relative lengths of those oi Accipitrince. Tarsus obviously shorter
than tibia, generally scutellate before and behind, sometimes feathered to toes. The Buzzards
form a large group, not easy to define except by exclusion ; though quite distinct from Falco-
ninte and Pohjborince, they grade into each of the (jther subfamilies here presented. They are
Hawks of medium and rather large size, heavy-bodied, of strong but measured flight, inferior
in spirit to the true Hawks and Falcons, and as a rule feed upon humble game, which they
rather snatch stealthily than capture in open piracy. The extensive genus Buteo with its sub-
divisions, and its companion Archibuteo, typify Buzzards; they include, however, a great
variety of forms. With them must be associated Eagles ; for popular estimate of these famous
great birds as something remarkably different from ordinary Hawks is not confirmed by exam-
ination of their structure, which is the same as that of other Buzzards. Altliough usually of
large size and powerful physique, they are far below the smallest Falcons in raptorial charac-
ter, prey like Buzzards, and ()ften stoop to carrion. The genus Aquila may stand as the type
of an Eagle ; its several species are confined to the Old World, with one exception. Haliaetus
FALCONID.E — BUTEOXIN.E: BUZZARDS. 679
represents a decided modification, in adaptation to maritime and piscivorous habits. TJudassa-
etiis pelugicus is the magniticeut sea Eagle of northeastern Asia, whose cuneate tail has 14 rec-
trices, contrary to the rule in Falconidce. A celebrated bird (if this group is the Harpy Eagle,
Thrasyaetus harpyia, with immense bill and feet, and one of the most powerful birds of the
whole family. There are several other genera in eacii liemisphere.
Analysis of Genera.
Tarsi feathered in front to the toes.
Buzzards not over 2 feet long Archilmieo
Eagles about 3 feet long Aquila
Tarsi naked and scutellate or reticulate below.
Crested. Eagles about 4 feet long • Thrasyaetus
Not crested. No basal webbing of toes. Eagles about 3 feet long Uatiaelus
A basal web between outer and middle toes. Buzzards not over two feet long.
Under parts of adult finely barred crosswise ; wings rounded Aslurina
— otherwise; wings more pointed Urtibitinr/n, Partibuteo, aud Buleo
PARABU'TKO. (Gr. napc'i, ])(()•<(, by, near, beside, alongside of, etc. and Lat. Biiteo, the
genus to which it is so nearly related tliat T have liitherto allowed it only subgenerie rank in
the Key.) Carrion Buzzards. In general nearly like Bitteo (which see), with some resem-
blance to Pohjhorus. Tail more than f as long as wing. Fice outer primaries emarginate on
inner webs. Bill high at base ; nostrils oval, with eccentric tubercle. Tarsi lengthened and
much denuded, not feathered ^ way down in front, thence with a i-ow of large scutella, difier-
ent from the small plates on the sides and behind. Loral region extensively denuded to the
eye, and beset with short radiating bristles. One species, American, with a subspecies over
our border. Antenor and Parahuteo Riogw. in Bo. Brew, and Kidgav. N. A. B. iii, lt*74,
]ip. 248 and '2.")(). Fri/fhrocnema Shakpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mas. i, 1874, p. 84.
P. uniciiic'tus har'risi. (Lat. tint-, once ; cinctufi, girdled. To Edw. Harris.) Harris'
Buzzard. y\dult ^ 9- General plumage blackish, more or less intense, sometimes rather
dark chocohite-brown, blackening on wings and tail, but in any case pretty uniform over wliole
body ; sides of head with some white touches. Lesser and part of middle wing-coverts, lining of
wings, and tibia>, brownish-red, or rich chestnut. Tail-coverts and base of tail broadly white,
thus girdling tlie wlude figure ; end of tail ahso white, 1.00 or more. ^ about 20.00 ; e.\tent
4L00-4ti.00 ; wing 12.50-13.50 ; tail 8..jO-i>..50 ; tarsus 3.()0-.'J.25 ; middle toe withnut claw 2.00.
9 larger; about 2.3.00; extent 43.00-47.00; wing 1.3.50-14..')0 ; tail !).50-lO..')0. Y.mng:
Less decidedly blackish, upper parts varied with rusty-bmwn, lower (piite tawny with dusky
spots or streaks, chestnut of wings not unbroken, white of tail less distinctly defined. Tibi;e
tawny-white, distinctly barred with chestnut. But in any plumage the species is unmistak-
able. Nestlings are covered with white and buif down. In some respects it resembles Pohj-
horus, being a slnggisli, carrion-feeding bird, usually found as.sociated with the Caracara,
Turkey Buzzard, and Black Vulture. It is a cuniUKin inhabitant nf the warmer parts of
America and over our Mexican border; abundant in snme parts of Texas, extending E. to
Louisiana, rarely to Mississippi, W. acro.ss New Mexico and Arizona to Low«'r California,
anil 8. to Panama. Nest in a tree or bush, very variable in size and finish in difi'erent cases ;
egys 2-4, connnonly 3, 2.00-2.10 X 1.05. white or whiti.sh, unmarked, or with faint browiiisli-
ycdliiw spots or stains, laid from the middle of February to early June in our country.
BU'TKO. {\ i\\i. hutco, -A IJuzzard-hawk.) Buzzards. Size medium and large; form heavy,
rolui.st. Itill of nioilerate size and ordinary shape. Wings rather long and pointed, exceedini;
tail to a variable extent; .3d to 5th quills loni:<'st, 1st to 4th emarginate on inner webs, 1st not
longer than Htli. Tail f)f uxiderate len>rth. probaldy averaging § of the wini:. a little roundi'ii.
Feet more or less robust; tarsi .scutellate in front at least, feathired in front for a varyiiii:
di.stance; tibia.' flagged. Tiiis is the central or typical i;enns of its subfamily, as i'«/fO is of
680 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
Falconina;, eaibmcing numerous species of nearly all parts of the world excepting Australia ;
about half of thein American. Tlie type is B. vulfjaris of Europe, to which the North Amer-
ican B. swainsoni is closely related. Four of our species {BB. borealis, swainsoni, Uneatus,
latissimus) are common '' Hen Hawks " or " Chicken Hawks" of the U. S., the first named
running into several varieties ; the others are little known (JBB. hariani, cooperi), or of very
partial distribution in North America {BB. sennetti, abbreviatus, brachyurus), or questionable
as a straggler from Europe (alleged B. buteo). In all cases, sexes alike or similar; 9 larger
than 1^; young different from adults ; and melanism frequent.
Analysis of Subgenera and Species.
Tail irfiile, with a broad black subterminal zone and numerous very narrow, zig-zag, or broken, blackish cross-
lines. Texas. (Type of subgenus Tachytriorcltis) albocaudatus sennetli
Four outer primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs.
Tail mostly rufous, ashy-clouded ; marked /engthtvise with darker ; and with dark subterminal zone ; under
parts mostly white. Gala., one specimen known ; dubious cooperi f
Tail mottled with dusky and white, and with subterminal blackish zone ; showing also reddish touches. Plu-
mage almost entirely blackish, with fleecy- white bases of feathers. Kas. to Tex., not well known, and status
questionable • ... hariani
Tail of adult chestnut-red, with black subterminal bar, and others or not ; no reddish on wing-coverts ; white
prevailing on under parts, especially breast. Tail of young closely barred with grajrish and blackish. Ro-
bust and largest ; wing usually t4.00 or more ; tarsus stout. N. Am., common borealis
Tail of adult black, crossed by about C white bars ; primaries spotted with white ; lesser wing-coverts reddish,
like under parts. Tail of youug dusky, numerously barred with whitish ; under parts whitish, streaked with
dusky. Less robust ; wing usually under 14.00 ; tarsus slender. N. Am., common Uneatus
Tail of adult black, with 3 broad white zones on inner webs only of the feathers, ashy on outer webs ; plumage
black, spotted or not with white. Tail of young dusky, inner webs mostly white, black-barred. Southwestern
U. S abbreviatus
Three outer primaries emarginate or sinuate on iiuier webs.
Tail numerously and narrowly cross-barred with lighter and darker. Plumage extremely variable, but not exten-
sively reddish underneath, nor cheeks with a dark mustache. Large ; wing usually over 13.00. Chiefly west-
ern U. S., common swainsoni
Tail of adult blackish witli about 3 light gray bands exposed ; under parts extensively rufous ; a dark mustache.
Small; wing under 12.00. Eastern U. S., common latusinms
Tall crossed with light and dark bars ; general color of upper parts fuliginous, little varied, frontlet more or
leas whitish. Southern U. S brachyurus
{Subgenus Tachytriorchis.)
B. albocauda'tus sen'netti. (Lat. albu-s, white; cauclatus, tailed. To Geo. B. Sennett.)
White-tailed Buzzard. Sennett's Buzzard. Three outer primaries cut on inner webs.
Wings very acute; tail short. Adult ^^: Tail and its coverts white, with a broad black
subteruiinal zcnie, and nunjerous very fine zig-zag or broken blackish cross-lines. Upper
parts (excepting rump, which is white like tail), definitely including sides of head and neck,
ash-color or plumbeous, lighter or darker in diff'(n-ent cases, the feathers fleecy-white at bases
so extensively as to show with the least disturbance of the plumage, and on scapulars tinged
with reddish. Most of the lesser wing-coverts (but not quite to bend of wing), chestnut, some-
what as in Harris' Buzzard. Entire under parts pure white, lightly touched with fine dusky
cross-bars on sides, lining of wings, and usually tibiae. On surface of wings plumbeous of
upper parts deepens to blackish of primaries, whftse inner Avebs are lighter and more brownish,
crossed with numerous darker bars, and toward base are cut, barred, or speckled with white,
which increases in regularity, firmness, and extent on secondaries. Shafts of wing-feathers
brown or black, those of tail white along wliite portion of the feathers. Bill mostly dark, in
part light; feet yellow; claws black. Length of $ 23.00; extent 48.00; wing 16.00; tail
7.00; chord of culmen, including cere, 1.40; tarsus about 3.2.5; feathered about 1.00 down in
front. 9 larger: length 24.00; extent 54.00; wing 17..50; tail 8.00, etc. (Described from
Sennett's and Merrill's Texas specimens.) Young: much darker than the adults; general
plumage blackish brown, on the under parts much varied with white and buff; but recogniz-
FA L CONID.E — B UTEONIN.E : B fJZZA RDS. 681
able by the hoary gray tail, darker toward the end, with nmneroiis obsolete dark bars, and
whitish or buff tip. Nestlings covered with sooty brown down, quite blackish on the head,
lighter on posterior upper parts, buffy white below. A tiiu! large Hawk of the warmer parts
of America, N. to Texas, and also known to breed in southern Arizona (Auk, Oct. 1899,
p. 352, and Oct. 1897, p. 403). It is very unlike any other of this country. It abounds in
the lower parts of Te.xas, where it breeds from February to July indifferently, placing the large
bulky nest of sticks and grasses on low trees and bushes ; eggs 2 or 3, about 2.35 X 1-90, dull
white, immaculate, or only very lightly marked with pale brownish and neutral lint, and thus
differing from ordinary Buzzard eggs; they are also large for the size of the bird. B. albocau-
datiis of 2d-4th eds. of the Key, p. 542; B. alhiccmdatm A. O. U. List, 1st ed. 1886; B. ulhi-
caudatns sennetti Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, v, 1893, p. 144 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed.
1895, No. 341. The species is type of tlie subgenus Tuclujtriorohis Kaup, 1844; but it is an
oversight in the arrangement of tlie A. 0. U. List to bring B. swainsoni and B. latissimus under
this subgenus, as they belong to Buteo jiroper. Sharjie raises Tachytriorchis to full generic
rank, and restricts it to alhocaudatiis and abbreviatus, in Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i, 1874, p. 101.
(Subgenus lirxEO.)
? B. buteo. CojiMOX EuROPEAX Buzzard. Puttock. Type of this subgenus, as of the
whole genus. A large species, having 4 primaries emarginate on the inner web, as in our
B. borealis but in plumage e.xtremely variable, most resembling B. sicainsoni as described
beyond, and sometimes almost identical in coloration with one of the dark ])hases of the latter.
Wing 15.50-ltJ.50 ; tail 8.00-9.00. Europe, etc. Said to have occurred once in Michigan.
We have the specimen, unquestionably of tliis species, but the alleged occurrence is open to
doubt. See the case as set forth at Icngtli iu Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, i, iS7G, \^\>. 4-<i, and
pp. 32-39. (Not heretofore allowed in tlie Key. A. O. U. No. [.33fi.].)
B. coo'peri? (To Dr. J. G. Cooper.) Cooper's JiuzzAiiu =s: Archibutco ferrugineus ?
Head, neck, and whole lower parts white; feathers of head and neck with medial longitudinal
streaks of black, the white prevailing on occiput and superciliary region, the black predomi-
nating over cheeks, forming a mustache; throat with fine lanceidate blackish streaks; sides
of breast with broader, more cuneate markings of the same ; flanks with narrow, lanceidate
stripes, these extending sparsely across abdomen ; tibife and lower tail-coverts immaculate,
inner face of the former with faint specks. Upper plumage in general dark plumbeous-brown,
inclining to black on back ; jjhunbeous clearest on primaries, whicli are uniformly of this
color, the inner ones inclining to fine cinereous. Scapulars and wing-coverts spattered with
white beneath the surface. Rump black ; uj»))er tail-coverts white, tinged with rufous, and
witli irregular, distant, transverse bars of blackish. Tail witli light rufous prevailing, but
this broken up by longitudinal daubs and washes of cinereous, and darker mottlings running
Inngitiidinally on both webs; basally, the ground-color approaches white; tip wiiiti', with a
di.stinct but very irregular subterminal bar of black, into which the longitudinal mottlings
melt; outer webs of lateral feathers entirely cinereous, and without the bhick band. T'nder
side of wing white, with a large black space on lining near edge ; under surfaces of ])rimaries
white anterior to their emargination, finely mottled with ashy atul with indistinct transverse
liands terminally. 4th quill longest; 3d shorter than 5th; 2d equal to (ith; 1st er|ual to 10th.
Wiiiir 15.75; tail 9 10; tarsus 3.25; middle toe 1.70. Santa Clara Co., California, one sp«ri-
nien known, ))nd)ably the last as well as the first; for I suppose tliis to be ArchibuU-o fcniigi-
veus (witli or without a mdaaUiaticc of Buteo borealis), with aluiormally ilemnled tar.^i. I have
carefully examined the type specimen, but condense Mr. Kidirway's description iu preference to
constructiiiiT a new one. (No new light has been thrown mi the case since tlie above wiia
peiiiie.l tor the 2cl ed. of the KeV ; meanwhile, the alleged .specit's h.us been relegati-d to tho
682
S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — RA P TOR ES — A CCIPI TRES.
limbo of the A. 0. U. Hypothetical List as No. 14, " probably the light phase of J5. harlanV
See KiDGW. Auk, 1884, p. 253 ; 1885, j). 165.)
B. har'laiii. (To Dr. R. Harlan.) Harlan's Buzzard. '' Black Warrior." Form
strong and heavy, like horealis, but still more robust; tibial ]ilumes unusually developed,
long and loose, their ends reaching to or beyond base of toes ; lateral toes nearly equal. Four
outer primaries with inner webs cut. Wing 14.25-15.75; tail 8.8U-10.00: culmen r.OO ;
tarsus 2.75-3.25 ; middle toe 1.50-1.70. Nearly uniform black, varying from a sooty to a
carbonaceous tint, with more or less concealed pure white. Adult : Tail confusedly mottled
longitudinally with grayish, dusky, and white, often tinged or mi.xed with rufous, the diflereut
shades varying in relative amount in different individuals ; a subterminal band of black.
Young : Tail grayish-brown, crossed by about 9 very regular and sharply defined broad bands
of black about equal in width to gray ones. (Ridgway.) Louisiana and Texas to Kansas ; an
obscure species, variously interpreted by writers. DiflFerent " black hawks " have been called
" hai'lanif" such as the melanistic phases of both borealis and sivainsoni, and harlani has been
supposed to be not different from borealis. A few specimens in the Smithsonian Institution,
identified with Audubon's bird by Mr. Ridgway, agree suificiently with the plate and descrip-
tion, and the alleged species may contiime to stand upon its own demerits, as in former editions
of the Key. The latest theory on the subject extends the range of the bird from Pennsylvania
to Central America, and makes it out to be a subspecies of B. borealis, with ^^cooperi" for a
" light phase " of itself. B. harlani Aud. folio pi. S6, 1830, and of most authors ; A. 0. U.
List, 1st ed. 188(), No. 338. B. borealis harlani Ridgw. Auk, Apr. ]890, p. 205; A. 0. U.
List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 337 d.
B. borealis. (Lat. borealis, northern. Figs. 466, 467, 468.) Red-tailed Buzzard.
" Hen Hawk." Adult ^ 9 : Upper surface of tail rich chestnut, with white tip and usually a
black subterminal zone,
with or without other nar-
rower and more or less im-
perfect black bars ; some-
times barred throughout.
From below, the tail ap-
])ears pearly whitish with
a reddish tinge, eitlier
(juite uniform, or barred
throughout with whitish
and blackish. In general,
9 with most barred or
completely barred tail, ^
with uniform tail, only
subterminally once-zoned.
Upper parts blackish-
brown, with indetermi-
nate amount of light va-
riegation, gray, fulvous,
and whitish; feathers of liind head aud nape with cottony white bases, showing when dis-
turbed; those of hind neck usually with fulvous edging; of scapular region showing most
variegation with tawny or whitish, or both, the scapulars and adjoining feathers being largely
bai-red, and only blackish on their exposed portions ; upper tail-coverts showing much tavrny
and white. Ground color of under parts white, more or less buff- toned ; dark color of upper
parts reaching nearly or quite around throat, flanks and lower belly heavily marked with dark
brown or blackish, but a large pectoral area, with tibia^ and crissum, mostly free from mark-
Fig. 4(;i>. — Red-tailed Buzzard.
FALC ONIDjE — BUTE ONINjE : B UZZA RDS.
683
ings —but no description will cover tlie latitude of cidoration. Primaries blackening on ex-
posed portions, for the rest lighter grayish-l)ro\vu, dark-barred across botli webs, and extensively
white-areated on inner webs basally. $ 19.00-2:2.00; extent about 48.00; wing 13.50-16.50 ;
tail 8.50-10.00 ; tarsus 2.50-3.00, feathered half-way down in front. 9 larger, 21.00-24.00;
extent about 56.00 ; wing 14.50-17.50 ; tail 9.50-10.00. $ 9 , young : General character of
upper parts same as in adult, but less variegated, and that chiefly with whitish and buff, in-
stead of grayish and fulvous ; upper tail-coverts more regularly barred with dark and white.
Tail entirely different, without any shade of red; light gray, with numerous (6-10) regular
dark bars, and narrow white tips ; the gray gradually yields to the chestnut shade with reduc-
tion, interruption, or extinction of all these bars except last one. Under parts somewhat as in
adult, but, like the upper, without fulvous or rufous shades; usually white, unmarked in a
large pectoral area, with circlet of throat stripes, and pronounced abdominal zone of dark or
blackish markings; tibia? spotted or not; crissum immaculate. There should be no difficulty
in recognizing tliis Hawk among those of the eastern U. S. and British Provinces in any
Fig. 4('i7. — Red-tailed Buzzard, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.)
plumage ; the red tail of the adult is of course distinctive ; a weakly young ^ might raise a
doubt with reference to lineatus (which also has 4 primaries cut) ; iu that case, notice stout tarsi,
feathered about ^ <lowu ; decided wiiite pectoral area, free from spots, circumscribed by dark
markings, especially those of the abdominal zone ; and absence of any reddishuess on upper
jiarts or wing-coverts. Such is the ordinary "Hen Hawk" so abundant iu eivstern North
America, where it is subject to comp(ir(ttirchj little variation. In the West, however, where it
is e<iually numerous, it sports almost interminably in color, not always coufornuibly with geo-
graphical distribution. Several of these phases have received special naimcs, as given beyond.
The tendency is to melanism and erythrism, the extreme case of which '\^ cdUirus of C'assin.
A pure borealis, exactly matching the normal eastern type, is seldom seen in the West. Hut
in all its color- variation, the bird preserves its s})ecific characters of size and robust ])roportions,
being thus reatiily distinguishable from the smaller and weaker species, swdiiisotii, iu any of
the endless and soiiiewiiat paralhd variaticuis of tlie latter (which, moreover, has only 3 jirima-
ries cut). Tiie Hed-tail as a species is resident and lireeds tliroiii^'hoiit its rauu'e, hut there is
much luiirr.itinu of individuals to and tVoiii its extremes. The nest is usualiv I'uilt hit:l» in ;i
684 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. - RAPTORES - ACCIPITRES.
tree, a bulky mass of sticks and siiialler twigs, mixed toward the centre with grass, bark,
leaves, moss, or other soft material, and often some feathers. Eggs 2, 3, or 4, about 2.40 X
1.90, with a difference in length of fully 0.40, dull whitish, sometimes with only a few pale
Fig. 468. — Red-tailed Hawk.
markings, rarely none, oftenest blotched (sometimes richly) with shades of brown ; they are
laid March-June, but mostly April and May. The young are slow to acquire their perfect
FA L COXID.'E — B UTEONINM : B L'ZZA RDS. 685
plumage, being long full-grown before the red appears upon the tail, and this usually precedes
the fulvous of the under parts. The quarry of the great Rod-tail is humble, chiefly such small
mammals as mice, moles, j;hrews, gophers, squirrels, or rabbits, much less often birds of any
kind, or pf)ultry ; also many reptiles and batrachians, crustaceans, and a great variety of insects.
The bird is thus highly beneficial to the agriculturist, like other species of its genus.
B. b. kri'deri. (To John Krider.) Krider's Ked-tail. A light-colored form, pure white
below, or nearly so, with few markings or none on belly, and subtcrminal tail-bar reduced or
obliterated; tail light rufous above; much white in plumage of upper parts. Higli central
plains, U. S. and probably adjoining Hritish provinces, E. to Minnesota, Iowa, and even Illi-
nois, W. to Wyoming and the Black Hills of S. Dakota, where I liave found it well developed.
It is the opposite extreme from cah(rns.
B. b. calu'rus. (Gr. KaXoj, kalos, beautiful ; ovpa, oura, tail.) Western Red-tail.
Black Red-tail. The extreme case is chocolate- brovvu or even darker, quite unicolor, with
ri(di red tail crossed by sevoral black bars; from which erythro-melanisui grading insensibly
into ordinary borealis. The usual case is increas(^ over borealis of dark rufous and dusky
shades in bars and spots underneath, particularly on flanks, flags, and crissum, and presence
of other than the subterminal black bar on tail. One case is chocolate-brown, with a great
reddish blotch on breast corresponding in extent to the white area of borealis proper. Western
N. Am. at large, particularly U. S. from Rocky Mts. to the Pacific. This bird is Falco buteo
AuD. Orn. Biogr. iv, p. 508, as described in the text, but not his pi. 372, whicii is B. sicainsoni.
It is B. montanun Cass. IB.iG, and in Bd. B. N. A. 1858, ]>. 2G, but not of Nuttai.l, 1840.
It is B. swainsonii Cass. Hi. 1853, }>, 98, not of Bonaparte. The first tenable name is B.
calurus Cass. 1855 and 1858.
B. b. <' lucasa'nus." (Of Cape St. Lucas.) St. Lucas Red-tail. A light-cidored form,
like krideri, white below, tinged with rufous on the tibite, and no bhick subterminal bar on
the tail. Lower California. No second specimen, matching the type, has been found in this
region, whcvi^ calurus abounds; the alleged characters are an iu^lividual ])eculiarity, and the
bird should be dropped from our Lists.
B. linea'tus. (Lat. lineatus, striped.) Red-shouldered Blzzard. Wintkk Hawk.
" Chicken Hawk." "Hen Hawk." Adult ^ <^ : Feet and cere chrome yellow; anterior
tarsal scales tinged with greenish. General plumage of a rich fulvous cast. Above, reddish-
brown, the feathers with dark brown centres, giving the prevailing tone, and black shafts ; head,
neck, and entire under parts orange-brown, mostly with dark shaft-lines and wliite bars, espe-
cially on the lower parts anteriorly ; lesser wing-coverts rich orange-brown or chestnut, fonning
a conspicuous area on bend of wing. Quills and tail-feathers black, beautifully marked with
white ; primaries and secondaries with white spots or bars on both webs terminating on each edge
of the feather, the light bars which cross the feather, and the darker intervening spaces, being
Tnore or less touched with reddish. The same style of marking on wing-coverts ; tail crossed
with several iiaiinw white bars, an<l tip wliite. Young: Very difi"erent ; little or no fulvous
or orange-brown; above, plain dark brown ; wing-patch indicated or not; head, neck, and un-
der parts white or buffy-white, fully streaked or arrow-headed with dark brown. Tail brown,
crf)ssed with many lighter and darker bars, former mostly tawny on outer webs, wliitish on
inner wel)s; wing-([uills extensively variegated in similar pattern. Length of ^ IS.OO-'Jd.tM) ;
extent alnnit 40.00; wing 11.50-13.50; tail 7..")0-!t.00 ; tarsus 2 75-3.25; 9 20.00-22.(M» ;
extent about 45. (»0; winy 12.00-14.00; tail 8.50-10.00. There is much variation in size ;
Florida and (iulf specimens are very small. Nearly as hmg as borealis, but not nearly so
lieavy ; tarsi more cxtensivtdy denuded. The adult of this hand.sonie Hawk is unmistak-
alde; but the student may require to loidt dosidy after tlie young, in comparison with young
Ik'rd-tails: observe smaller size and slighter "build," slenderer and less feathered feet, more
extensive and regular streaking on the under parts, where tliere is no pectoral area free from
686 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
markings, and more pronounced spotting of wings on outer webs of primaries. Eastern N. Am.,
one of the commonest Hawks of the U. S.. especially in winter, when it has retired from the
extreme of its range in the adjoining British Provinces and along our nortliern border; S. into
Mexico ; breeds throughout range, from March to May, according to latitude ; food, general
habits, and nidification similar to those of B. horealis; eggs 2-6, oftenest 3, next oftenest 4,
next 2, rarely .5, most rarely 6, averaging in size 2.25 X 1-70, ranging from 2.05 to 2.35 in
length, and in breadth from 1.65 to 1.85 ; they have the usual wide variation in markings, and
are indistinguishable on the whole from those of horealis, though averaging smaller and more
heavily marked.
B. 1. al'leni. (To Dr. J. A. Allen.) Florida Red-shouldered Buzzard. As^tated
above, and in the Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. 546, there is much variation in size, Florida and Gulf
specimens, and generally those from the S. Atlantic States, being very small. Such examples,
having the ^ wing 12..50 or less, tail 8.00 or )esr, etc., have received the above name. Breeds
early ; eggs laid in February and March, averaging 2.00 X 1-67. EiDCiw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus.
vii, Jan. 1885, p. 514, and Man. 1887, p. 235; CouES, Key, 3d and 4th eds. 1887-90, p. 882 ;
A. 0. U. Lists, 1886 and 1895, No. 339 a.
B. 1. e'legans. (Lat. elegans, choice.) Western Red-shouldered Buzzard. Red-
bellied or Red-breasted Hawk. The erythrism oflineatus. In extreme case, whole under
plumage rich dark reddish, almost obliterating the usual markings ; wings and tail, however,
still elegantly barred with white. Rocky Mts. to Pacific, British Columbia to N. Mexico; best
developed in coast region ; no appreciable difterence from Uneatus proper in habits, nest, or eggs.
B. abbrevia'tus. (Lat. ahbreviatus, shortened.) Band-tailed Buzzard. Zone-tailed
Hawk. Adult ^ 9 • Coal-black, glossy and uniform over whole body. Tail black ; viewed
above, it seems to be crossed with 3 zones of ashy-gray or slate-color, increasing in width and
firmness from proximal to distal one, and is narrowly tipped with white ; from below, there
appear 3 pure white zones, since the ashy is on outer webs only of the feathers (both webs of
middle pair, however), and the white is on inner webs. Plumage of head snowy-white at the
roots, and in some specimens, probably less mature, it is so extensive on head, neck, and
breast as to appear in spots on the least disturbance of the feathers. The wing-feathers appear
quite black in the fcdded wing, but their inner webs basally acquire the usual light and dark
spacing, with more or less whitish nebulation, or white areation. The feet appear to be yel-
low, bill mostly dark. Young recognizably similar; but tail more numerously and less regu-
larly banded, and the inner webs of the feathers mostly white. Length of (J 18.50-19.50;
extent 47.50; wing 1.5.00-16.00; tail 8.50-9.00 ; tarsus 2.50 ; middle toe without claw 1.60.
9 larger: Length about 21.00 ; extent 53.00; wing 16..50-17.50 ; tail 9.50-10.00 ; tarsus 2.75.
A peculiar Hawk, very unlike any other of the U. S., slightly built with long wings and tail;
it is one of the " light weights," yet has 4 priinai-ies cut on the inner webs. South and Central
America through Mexico to the U. S. border from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona to
southern and Lower California, being usually observed as a summer visitor ; first found within
our limits by Dr. J. G. Cooper, in southern California, Feb. 23, 1862, next by myself on the
Hassayampa River in Arizona, Sept. 24, 1864. Habits and food not peculiar ; nest bulky and
coarse, in a tree, often a cottonwood ; eggs 1-3, about 2.17 X 1-72, faintly bluish- white,
normally unmarked, occasionally spotted. (B. zonocercus ScL. P. Z. S. 1858, p. 130; Tr. Z. S.
1858, p. 263, pi. 59; Elliot, B. N. A. 1869, pi. 33; Coop. B. Cal. 1870, p. 479; Coues,
Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 217 ; Ridgw. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 272. B. alhonotatus Gray,
1844. B. abhreviutus Cab. 1848; Coues, Key, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 546; Ridgw. Man.
1887, p. 234; A. O. U. Lists, J886 and 1895, No. 340.)
B. swain'soni. (To Wm. Swainson.) CoMMON American Buzzard. Sw^ainson's Buz-
zard. A light-weight Hawk, with only 3 primaries cut — not 4, as in the foregoing species of
Buteo. Adult ^ 9 '• Upper parts dark brown, very variable in shade according to season or wear
FALCONIDM — BUTEONIX.E: BUZZARDS. 687
of feathers, varied with paler browu, or even reddish-hrowu edgings of feathers, but without the
clear fawn-color of the young ; feathers of crowu showing whitish when disturbed, and usually
sharp, dark shaft-lines; upper tail-coverts chestnut and white, with blackish bars. Quills and
tail-feathers as below described, but inner webs of former showing more decided dark cross-bars
upon a lighter marbled-whitish ground, and latter having broader and sharper, dark wavy
bars. These large quills, and particularly those of tail, vary mucli in shade according to wear,
new feathers being strongly slate-colored, old ones plain dark brown. The tail, however,
never shows any trace of the rich chestnut that obtains in adult borealis ; and neither wing
nor tail ever has anything Wkv the orange brown and pure white of B. Uneatits. Iris brown,
never yellow; feet, cere, gape, and base of under mandible ricli chrome-yellow; rest of bill and
claws bluish-black. Adult ^•. Under parts showing a broad pectoral area of bright chestnut,
usually with a glaucous cast, and sharp, black shaft-lines ; this area contrasting sharply with
])ure white throat. Other under parts white, more or less tinged and varied, in different speci-
mens, with light chestnut. In some ^ ^, this chestnut is diminished to traces, chiefly in flank-
liars and arrow-heads, and the white throat is immaculate; in others, the throat shows blackish
])cncilling, and the rest of the under parts are so much marked with chestnut, chiefly in cross-
bars, that this color predominates over white, and api)ears in direct continuation of the pectoral
area itself. Some featliers of this area are commonly dark brown. Length 19.00-20.00; ex-
tent about 49.00 ; wing 15.00 or a little more ; tail8..jO; tarsus 2.50; middle toe without claw
1.50. Adult 9= Much darker underneatli than J"; throat pure wliite, but other under parts
})r<)bably never wliitening decidedly. Pectoral area from rich dark chestnut or mahogauy-
C(d(ir, mi.xed with still darker feathers, to brownish-black; other under parts heavily marked
with chestnut, chiefly in cross-bars alternating with whitish, but on flanks, and sometimes
across belly, these markings quite; blacki.sh. The general tone of the under parts may be quite
as dark as the pectoral area of J', but lacks uniformity, and increased depth of color of pectoral
area in this sex suffices to preserve the strong contrast already mentioned- Length 20.00-
22.00 ; extent 50.0()-.')4.00 ; wing 15.00-10.50 ; tail 9.00. Changes of plumage with age affect
chiefly under parts; back, wings, and tail are more nearly alike at all times. In darkest
phase plumage of a sooty-brown. Young ^ 2- Entire upper parts dark brown, everywhere
varied with tawny edgings of individual feathers. The younger the bird, the more marked
is the variegation ; it corresponds in tints closely with color of under parts, being palest iu
very young examples. Under parts, including lining of wings, nearly uniform fawn-cidor
(pale dull yellowish-brown), thickly and sharply nuirked with blackish-brown. These large
dark spots, for tlie most part circular or guttiforin, crowd across forebreast, scatter on middle
belly, enlarge to cross-bars on flanks, become broad arrow-heads on lower belly and tibia;,
and are wanting on throat, which is only uuirked with a shar{), narrow, blackish pencilling
along the median line. Quills brownish-black, outer webs witli an ashy shade, inner webs
toward base grayish, paler, and marbled with white, and also showing obscure dark cross-
bars; their shafts black on top, nearly white underneath. Tail-feathers like quills, but more
decidedly shaded with ashy or slate-gray, and tipped with whitish; their numerous dark
cross-bars show more plainly tlian those of the (]uills, but are not .so evident as tliey are iu old
birds. Nestlings are covered with white flull'y down. Western X. Am., Mississippi Valh'y
to the Pacific, abundant; in many regions the commonest and most characteristic of the
large Hawks; occasionally E. tlirough tht; northern States to New England; N. to Hudson's
IJay and the Fur countries, incduding Alaska; S. to Central and Soutli America. Habits
nowi.se different from those of other large Hawks of this genus; food mainly small mammals,
reptiles, and insects, especially the gra.sshoppers and large crickets which abound in the We.st.
It is a resident bird in most localities, but migratory from extremes of its ranjre : the breeding
sea.son is mostly May and June, extended to July in uortlierly regions, but includes April and
j)art of March in southerly localities. Nests indifferently on the ground, cliffs, bushes, trees ;
688
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS.— RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
iiost iudistinguisbable from that of other hirge Hawks ; eggs usually 2 — I have never found
more, sometimes only one, but there are many clutches of 3, and a few of 4 eggs; they are
about 2.25 X 1.75, resembling hen's eggs, being nearly colorless and unmarked, like those of
the Marsh Hawk; sometimes stained or obsoletely spotted M'ith rusty-brownish, or other dull
shades, but seldom marked all over or boldly Ijlotched anywhere. This Buzzard represents
the European B. vulgaris (tig. 4G9) in N. Am., being, in fact, little different in plumage,
though with only 3 instead of 4 primaries cut. (It is Falco buteo Aud. folio pi. 372, not of
his text, which describes the Western Red-tail; B. vulgaris Sw. F. B. A. pi. 27; AuD. 8vo
pi. 6, not of the text ; B. montanus Nutt. 1840, not of authors ; B. bairdi Hoy (young) ;
B. oxypterus Cass, (young) ; B. insignatus Cass. 111. pi. 31 (melanistic) ; B. gutturalis
Maxim. ; B. obsoletus Sharpe, 1874 (not Falco obsoletus Gm.).
B. latis'simus. (Lat. very broad or wide, superlative degree of latus, wide ; referring to the
expanse of the win<,'s.) Broad-winged Buzzard. Adult ^ ^ : Above, dark brown, the
feathers with blackish shaft-lines, and pale grayish-brown
or even lighter edgings, those of hind head and nape cot-
tony-white basally ; usually also some feathers with ful-
vous edgings, especially on hind neck ; upper tail-coverts
barred or spotted with white. Primaries and secondaries
blackish on outer webs and at ends, most of the inner
webs white in large area, more or less perfectly barred
with dusky ; concealed parts of scapulars thus barred on
both webs. Exposed portion of tail with three blackish
zones, terminal one broadest, alternating narrower pale
gray or grayish-white zones, one of these terminal; from
below these zones appear whitish, but from above gray-
ish. Under parts mixed white and fulvous-brown, or dull
chestnut, the latter nearly as pronounced as in lineatus,
the pattern being rather that of Accipiter fuscus or A.
cooperi; fulvous in excess anteriorly, white prevailing
posteriorly aud nearly or quite immaculate on crissum ;
nuddle regions with white in oval paired spots or incom-
plete bars on each feather, flanks and tibia? pretty regu-
larly barred with the two colors; most of the feathers
black-shafted, producing a fine pencilling, this black in-
creasing to decided streaking on white throat, and forming
noticeable maxillary patches. Lining of wings mostly
white, l)ut with some reddish aud blackish spotting. Bill
\|^HH^^^^^^^p^ \^ "3j^ mostly dark ; feet yellow ; claws black. Length of $
\^Bii|||||||Pi^^^^g^ . about 14.00; extent 33.00; wing 10.00-11.00; tail
G. 50-7. 00; tarsus 2.30; middle toe witliout claw 1.20.
9 larger; length up to 18.00; wing 11.00-11.50; tail
7.00-8.00. Young: Differs as usual in the genus, in
lacking special colt)ratiou and pattern of under parts,
tail-pattern ditlerent, wing-pattern much the same. Upper parts blackish-brown, highly
variegated with fulvous, tawny, or whitish edgings of all the featliers, on head and neck the
light and darli colors in streaks about balancing each other. Under parts white, more or
less buff-toned, with more or fewer linear or clubbed fuscous markings on breast and sides,
changing to arrow-heads on flanks and sides, the amount of this marking wholly indeterminate.
Tail crossed with numerous light and dark bars (six or eight of each exposed), on both webs
of middle feathers and outer webs of the others; those on inner webs largely white, with con-
FlG. 469. — Jiuteo vuJynris ot Europe,
J nat. size ; not distinguishable in tlie cut
from one of the plumages of B. swainsoni.
(From Brehm.)
FALCONID.E — BUTEONIN^: BUZZARDS. 689
sequently better pronounced dark bars; all the feathers tipped with white; dark moustaches
much as in the adults. Eastern N. Am., N. to New Brunswick on the coast, to the regif»n of the
Saskatchewan in the interior, W. to the Great Plains of the U. S., S. in winter through Middle
America and in some of tlie West Indies in winter ; common on the whole, especially in wood-
land, but irregularly distributed; migratory from the extremes of its range. A small but stout
Bideo, with ample wings and tail, with only 3 primaries cut, very different from any of the
foregoing, easily recognized by size and proportions, aside from color. A large 9 resembles a
small $ lineatus in some respects, but the difference is too great to require detailed comparison.
The breeding range is coincident with the distribution of the bird in N. Am. ; the season for
eggs is May in most latitudes, but begins early in April at the South, and extends into June at
the North. Nest in a tree, nowise peculiar iu situation or construction ; eggs 2-5, oftenest 2 or
3, averaging 1.95 X 1-55, grayish or faintly greenish white, heavily marked with browns as a
rule, sometimes obsoletely spotted with neutral tints, rarely almost immaculate. {B. ijennayl-
vanicus of former eds. of the Key, as of most authors ; but Wilson had given this specific name
to Accipiter fuscus when he applied it also to this Biiteo, and we therefore now take latissimus,
given by his editor, Ord, in later copies of his work.)
(Subgenus Buteola.)
B. brachyu'rus. (Gr. ^paxvs, brachus, short; ovpd, oura, tail.) Short-tailed Buzzard,
iu melanistic plumage called the FULIGTNOUS Buzzard and Little Black Hawk. Of
small size, not over 16 00; wing under 13.50. Point of primaries extending beyond seconda-
ries less than ^ the length of wing; 3d, 4th, and 5th quills longest; 1st shorter than 8th ;
1st, 2d, and 3d primaries einarginate on inner web ; 4th with inner web sinuate. Tarsi bare in
flout fur a less distance than length of middle toe without claw. Occurs in two phases, light
and dark. Light phase: Ad. $ 9 • Above, blackish-brown ; ctmcealed bases of occipital featii-
ers pure white; forehead and most of sides of head, white; below, entirely white, except some
dark markings on each side of the breast, in the form of a rufous (jr grayisli-brown patch, with
or witliout dusky shaft-lines. Tail with black bands mostly broader than the grayish or
brownish interspaces, which are 5 to 7 in number, and narrowly tipped with white. Bill black
with bluish base; cere and feet yellow; iris brown ^, wing 10.50-12.00; tail G. 00-7. 00 ;
bill 0.70; tarsus 2.25; middle toe without claw 1.35. 9, wing 11.50-13.00; tail 7.00 or
more. Young $ 9- Above, grayish-brown, most of the feathers margined with tawny; sides
of head and neck streaked with the same ; whole of under parts tinged with tawny, immacu-
late, or streaked with brown, but no definite patches on sides of breast. Tail with bars nmre
numerous and less firm than in the adult. Dark 2)hase : Adult 9- Resembling ahhreviatus iu
being blackish or fuliginous all over, but entirely another bird, belonging to a different section
of the genus. Ctdor fuliginous, or dark umber-brown, nearly uniform, but barred on under
wing- and tail-coverts with white ; feathers of hind head and nape fleecy-white at base ; the
cdliir blackening on exposed surfaces of primaries, inner webs of which are extensively whi-
teneil, with tlie usual dark bars; little wliite, however, on secondaries, excepting inner ones,
most of them being simply spaced gray or light brown between their dark bars. Tail-pattern
as usual in young Hawks of this genus, there being numerous (6 or 8 exj)osed) blackish and
lighter grayish bars alternating, subterminal one of each broadest, whide tail tipped with
grayish-white ; inner webs of all the feathers excepting central pair whitening in the spaces
between the dark bars. Length 10.00; wing 1300; tail 7.00; tarsus 2.00. (Descrilu'd fnnn
\o. 12,117, Mus. Smiths. Inst., from Mazatlan, Mexico, agreeing with B. fuliginosus ScL.
I'. Z. S. 1858, p. 35(5; Tr. Z. S. 18.58, )). 2(17, \A. Ixii ; a bird once supposed to be the ijoung
of the same is B. oxgjiterus Cass. Pr. Phila. Acad. 1855, p. 283; both are treated as one vari-
ety of B. swriinsoni by HiDOW. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 2(i(i. See Ibis, Oct. 187(5, p. 477 :
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Oct. 1881, p. 207 ; I'r. V. S. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, p. 75; Auk, Jan.
44
690 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
1890, p. 90. Mexican border, Florida, and southward through Central and most of South
America ; not known to occur in the West Indies. Breeds regularly in Florida, nesting in
trees in March and April; eggs 1-3, 2.15 X I.H5, greenish white, moderately spotted witli rich
brown.
AKCHIBU'TEO. (Lat. archi-, from Gr. apxos, archos, a leader, chief; buteo, a buzzard.)
Hare-footed Buzzards. Characters of Buteo proper, but tarsi featliered in front to toes,
naked and reticulate along a strip behind. Wings very long; 3d and 4th quills longest; 1st
shorter than 7tli ; 4 or 5 emarginate on inner webs. A small group, well marked by character
of feet. Tlie species are among the largest of the Buzzard-hawks, but are rather dull heavy
birds, preying upon humble quarry, especially small quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects.
Anali/sis of Species.
Below, white, variously dark-marked, and often with a broad black abdominal zone, but generally no ferruginous ;
in melanotic state, whole plumage nearly uniform blackish. (Aechibuteo proper.) . . lugopus sancti-johiinnis
Below, pure white, scarcely or not marked, excepting that the legs are rich rufous with black bars, in marked con-
trast ; above, varied with dark brown, chestnut, and white ; quills brown, vdth much white : tail silvery-ash and
white, clouded with brown or rulbus. {Subgenus Brewsteria.) Jerrugineus
(Subgenus Archibuteo : Rough-legs.)
A. lago'pus sancti-johan'nis. (Gr. AaywTrovs, lagopoiis, hare-footed ; Lat. sancti-johannis,
of St. John, Newfoundland. Figs. 470, 471, 472.) American Rough-legged Buzzard.
" Black Hawk." Adult ^ 9 • '-Too variable in plumage to be concisely described. In gen-
eral, whole plumage with dark brown or blackish and light
brown, gray, or whitish, the lighter colors edging or barring
the individual feathers ; tendency to excess of whitish on
head, and to formation of a dark abdominal zone or area
M'liich may or may not include tibipe ; usually a blackish
anteorbital and maxillary area. Lining of wings exten-
sively blackish. Tail usually white from base for some
distance, then with dark and light barring. Inner webs
of flight-feathers extensively white from base, usually with
little if any of the dark barring so prevalent among bu-
teonine Hawks. From such a light and variegated plu-
mage as this, the bird varies to more or less nearly uniform
blackish, in which case the tail is usually barred several
times with white. Our lighter-colored birds are not fairly
separable from normal European lagopus ; but our birds
Fig. 470. — American Rough-legged average darker, and their frequent melanism does not ap-
Buzzard. (L. A. Fuertes.) pgj^j. ^^ often befall the European stock. But in any plu-
mage the Eough-leg is known at a glance from nuy Buteo by feathered shanks; while the
peculiar coloration of ferrugineus is highly distinctive of the latter. Length of 9 ? 22.00 ; ex-
tent 54.00; wing 17.50; tail 9.00; iris light brown; bill mostly blackish-blue; cere pale
greenish-yellow; feet dull yellow; claws blue-black. ^ averages smaller; length 20.00-
22.00; wing 16.00-17.00. The name adopted, it must be observed, is not intended to discrimi-
nate tlie black from the ordinary plumage, but to separate the American bird subspecifically
from tlie European. (The latter has been supposed to occur in its typical form in Alaska,
and is carried in both editions of the A. O. U. List, 1886 and 1895, as No. [347.] ; but I can-
not admit it to the Key upon any such evidence as that which has been adduced.) N. Am.,
at large, common, especially in fertile, well-watered regions, as those of the Atlantic seaboard ;
a large, heavy, and somewhat sluggish Hav/k, haunting meadows and marshes, to some ex-
FALCONID.E — B UTEONIN.E : B UZZA R DS.
691
Ki.i. 171. — Itliiik Hinvk. (From Tlip OHpn-y.)
692
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES - A CCIPITRES.
tent crepuscular in habits, of low, easy, and almost noiseless fliglit ; preying upon insignifi-
cant quarry, particularly small rodent and insectivorous mammals, reptiles, batrachians, and
insects. With us it is only a migrant in spring and fall, and a winter resident, breeding almost
entirely north of the U. S. (excepting Alaska); but doubtless nests near our northern border as
it does rarely on it, as in North Dakota. Nest usually in trees, but frequently on a ledge of
V^^^^^^_^
Fio. 472. — Rough-legged Buzzard, J nat. size. (From Brehm.)
rocks or the edge of a cut-bank; a bulky mass of interlaced sticks, with softer matted material
of miscellaneous kinds; eggs 2-5, ordinarily 3 or 4, laid late in May and in June, 2.05-2.45
X 1.65-1.85, averaging 2.25 X 1.80; varying in color from dingy whitish with scarcely any
marking, or but faint clouding, to creamy-white boldly variegated with blotches and washes
of dark brown on the surface, with neutral-tiut markings in the substance of the shell.
{Subgenus Brewstekia.)
A. ferrugi'neus. (Lat. ferrngo, iron-rust.) Ferruginous Rough-legged Buzzard.
" California Squirrel Hawk." " Eagle Hawk." Adult $ 9 : Below, pure white from
bill to end of tail; legs rich rufous or bright chestnut barred with black, in marked contrast ;
usually a few chestnut bars or arrow-heads on belly and flanks, and breast with sharp shaft
lines of black. The older the bird tlie purer white below, with more perfect contrast of chest-
FALCONIDM — BUTEONIN^: BUZZARDS. 693
uut legs; 9 rotaiuing marks of immaturity longer than $\ these consisting in extension of
black -barred chestnut markings on to belly, flanks, and even more of the under parts, and
spreading of fine shaft-lines ou breast into ordinary streaks. Tail silvery-white below, above
white at base and extreme tip, iu most of its' extent clouiled with silvery-ash and more or less
tinged with fei-ruginous. Back, rump, and wing-coverts mixed blackish and bright chestnut
in varying but about equal amounts, the foraier color making central markings on the exposed
portion of each feather, the chestnut yielding tt) white at bases of the feathers. Top, back,
and sides of head streaked with blackish and white iu about equal amounts, the feathers being
cottony-white, with djirk streaks or spaces ou their exposed portions. Primaries blackish,
with a glaucous bloom on outer webs, their shafts almost entirely white ; several outer ones
with extensive pure white areation on inner webs; inner primaries and secondaries continuing
this pattern, but with more or less evident ashy spacing between blackish bars, as usual in
buteonine Hawks. Length of ^, 22.50; extent 54.50 ; wing 16.75; tail 9.25; tarsus 2.75;
length of 9 , 2-J..50 ; extent 56.50 ; wing 17.25 ; tail 9.75. Iris pale brownish to light yellow;
cere and feet bright yellow ; bill dark bluish horn-color, very stt)Ut ; mouth purplish tiesh-
color, and very capacious, measuring from corner to corner of the gape about J. 80; this is the
chief character of the subgenus Brewsteria (iu the common Rough-leg the same measurement
is only about 1.40). Third and 4th quills subequal and longest ; 2d between 5th and 6th ; 1st
about equal to 8th ; lst-4th abruinly emarginate on inner webs; 2d-5th sinuate on outer webs.
The foregoing is from a fine pair I procured in Arizona in 1864. Young : less rufous above,
and almost entirely wliite below, the fiags scarcely variegated or contrasted; upper parts
brownish-gray, with rusty or tawny edgings of the feathers ; tail the same in ground color,
but whitening toward the base and on the inner webs, and with several infirm dark bands.
There is a melanistic or rather erythrisinal pliase, in which tlie bird becomes, except on the tail,
chocolate-brown, more or less variegated with rusty-brown. In perfect plumage this is one
of tlie largest, handsomest, and most distinctively marked Hawks of North America, somewhat
recalling Biiteo albocaudatns ; common in the West, from the region of the Red River of the
North and of the Saskatchewan to Texas and into Mexico, and from the Plains to the Pacific;
sometimes even E. of the Mississippi, as in Illinois : resident as a species iu most of its range,
and breeding, but migratory to some extent. Nesting and habits nowise peculiar, as com-
pared with those of other large Ilawlcs ; nest in trees, or on ledges and cut-banks, composed of
sticks, with matted linhig of various softer materials, and sometimes acquiring immense size,
like those of the Osprey; eggs 2-5, oftener 3 or 4, averaging 2.55 X 1.95, thus larger than
those of the other species, but indistinguishable and equally variable in markings ; they are
mostly laid from the middle of April to that of May.
ASTURl'NA. (Modified from Lat. astiir, a hawk.) Star Btzzauds. General characters
of Biiteu, in ])n)portions, l)Ut system of coloration as iu Astitr : sexes alike; adults ashy, with
black, white-barred tail; under parts closely barred crosswise witli ashy and white; young
diii'erent, under parts marked lengthwise with blackish on a whitish ground. Wings short for
this subfamily; 3d, 4th, and 5th quills longest, 1st very short; outer 4 emarginate ou inner
webs; 2d-5th cut on outer webs. Tail even, long, about f the wing. Legs longer than usual
iu Bntconince, more nearly as in Accipitrincc ; feet stout; tarsus scutellate before and half-way
np behind, shortly feathered above in front, elsewhere strongly reticulate. A small group of
handsome under-sized Hawks, peculiar to America.
A. pliiKisi'ta. (Lat plagata, striped.) GuAV Stau l?fz/.AKD. Mexican Gosiiawk.
Adult (J 9 • Upi)er j)arts nearly uniform cinereous, or light jjlumbeous, tiie feathers dark-shafted,
and with nearly obsolete undulations of lighter ash; upjier tail-coverts in part white. Tail
black, with .several white zones, sonu'tiuu'S broken, and white or whitish tip. Under parts, in-
I'luding tibia', white, beautifully and clo.sely cross-barred with dark ash, except upon throat and
crissum; some of the feathers al.-n dark-shafted. Lining of wings white, less closely barred
694 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
with ashy. Primaries darkoniug from cok)r of back, tlieir inner webs spaced lighter and darker,
and with extensive white areation, which characters increase on secondaries. Iris brown ; cere
and feet bright yellow; bill and claws blue-black. Wing of $ 10.00; tail 7.00; tarsus 2.75;
middle toe without claw 1.50. Length, 16.00-18.00. Wing of 9 11.00; tail 8.00. Young:
Blackish-brown above, much variegated with reddish -buff ; white upper tail- coverts spotted
with blackish; below, whitish, dashed witli large blackish marks; Hags barred; tail dark
brown, with numerous narrow blackisli bars. Central America and Mexico, regularly into
southwestern U. S., said to straggle up the Mississippi Valley to Illinois, but only ascertained
to breed over our border in Arizona and New Mexico, though it doubtless does so in some parts
of Texas ; it is only known as a summer visitor, arriving in March or April, breeding in May
and June, leaving late in the fall. Nest usually in high trees, not peculiar ; eggs 2-3, 2.00 X
1.60, colorless or with a few faint spots.
URUBITIN'GA. (South American nruhu, a vulture ; thiga. bright.) Anthracite Buz-
zards. General characters of Bideo, but system of coloration jieculiar, the adults being chiefly
black and white, the tail typically broadly zoned. The limits of the genus vary with different
writers; it contains several species, confined to America, one of them reaching our border. In
this the tail is about § as long as wing, emarginate or nearly even ; wing with 3d-5th quills
longest, 2d about equal to 6th, 1st very short; outer 4 sinuate on inner webs; point of folded
wing reaching but little beyond the longest secondaries; bill lengthened and rather weak ; tomia
of upper mandible strongly festooned or almost h)bated back of the hook ; gonys convex; nostrils
large, subcircular; lores extensively denuded; tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw,
feathered but a little way down in front, scutellate before and behind, reticulated laterally like
bases of toes, which in the rest of their length are broadly scutellate.
U. anthraci'na. (Lat. arithr<(cinus, carbuncular; in this case coal-black.) Anthracite
Buzzard. Mexican Black Hawk. Adult J*?- Coal-ldack; feathers of head and neck
with concealed white bases ; tail white at extreme base and tip, and crossed about the middle
with a broad white zone ; tips of its coverts white ; quills of wing more or less mottled with
rusty-brown ; cere, rictus, base of bill, and feet, yellow ; bill and claws blackish. Length
21.00-23.00; wing 13.00-15.00; tail 8.00-10.00; tarsus 3.25; 9 larger than ^; wing up to
16.00, etc. Young : Extensively varied with rusty or buff, which is gradually obliterated as
the bird matures ; tail numerously barred witli black and white — 6-9 such bars, mostly brolceu
or otherwise irregular. Whole under parts white, more or less tinged with buff, pencilled on
throat, heavily striped on breast and sides, closely barred across on tibiae and crissum, with
blackish. Feathers of liead, nape, and fore back largely white or whitish, appearing in streaks
among the overlying blackish of the ends of the feathers. Exposed portions of primaries black-
ish, obsoletely crossed with lighter; these feathers liglitening basally and internally, where
narrow blackish bars alternate with wider spaces of white tinged with brown and fulvous.
Secondaries and larger coverts brown with narrow dark bars, their inner webs also indented
with whitish and tawny. The younger the bird the more whitish or buff prevails over dark
colors. The contrast between cross-barred tibije and lengthwise-striped breast and sides is
always notable. The tail varies from rounded through square to emarginate. A remarkable
Hawk of Central America, West Indies, and Mexico, N. to Arizoua, New Mexico, and the
Lower Rio Grande valley of Texas, apparently not common over our border, and not resident ;
breeds; nest in trees; eggs 1-3, 2.30 X 1-85, greenish-white, moderately spotted with light
and dark browns, laid April-June.
Note. — Omjchotes gruberi Ridow. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philada. Dec. 1870, p. 149; B. P.. and R. Hist. N. A. Birds,
iii, 1874, p. 254 ; RiDGw. Rod and Gun, May 1, 1875, p. 65; Bull. U S. Geol. Surv. Terr, ii, Apr. 1876, p. 134; admitted in
the Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 219, and 2d ed. 1884, p. 553, is not Nortli American : see Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. Apr. 1885, p. 30,
and Key, 3d ed. 1887, p. 883. It is a Sandwich Island Fish Hawk, originally described as Buteo soUtarius by T. R. Peale,
U. S. Expl. Exped. 1848, p. 62, and figured as such by Sclater, Challenger Reps. Birds, 1881, p. 90, pi. 21 ; Pandion
solilarius Cassin, U. S. Expl. Exped. 1858, p. 97, pi. 4 : Polioaetus soUtarius Shaepb, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i, 1874, p. 452
Its original ascription to " California " was simply a mistake.
FALCONID.E — BUTEONIN.E : EAGLES. 695
THRASAE'TUS. (Gr. Bpacrvs, tJtrasus, bold ; deros, aetos, an ea_£;le.) Harpy Eagles. A
genus contaiuing one species of eiioruuuis size, the most powerful raptorial bird of America, it
not of the entire sub-order. Head with a broad flowing occipital crest. Bill of great length
and depth, much compressed, S(j hooked that the curve of tlie cuhnen is about a quadrant of a
circle; commissure about straiglit, tomia festooned but not toothed ; cere extensive, with nearly
vortical fore-edge, close to which are the narrowly oval nostrils, about midway betvA^een tomia
and cuhnen ; lores extensively naked and bristly ; superciliary shield prominent ; feet and tal-
ons of immense strength ; tarsus feathered a little way down iu front; feet reticulate, excepting
a few scales on top of toes ; lateral toes much shorter than middle; inner claw much larger
than middle; hinder much the largest of all. Wings rather short, very ample; secondaries
entirely covering primaries when folded ; wing as a whole much vaulted, outer quills strongly
bowed. Tail long, | the wing, fan-shaped, vaulted.
T. harpyi'a. (Gr. ap-rrvia, harjmia, a harpy.) Harpy Eagle. The largest and finest
specimen before me I judge to have been nearly or about 4 feet long; wing about 2 feet ; the
tail 18 inclies ; chord of cuhnen, including cere, 2.75 inches; depth of bill 1.50; tarsus over
4.00; chord of hind claw nearly .'].00. Head and entire under parts dull white, more or less
obscured with ashy or dusky, particularly on crest, across throat, and on tibiae, which latter are
in some cases regularly barred with blackish. Upper parts at large ashy-gray, intimately but
irregularly barred with glossy black, especially on wing-coverts. Flight-feathers mostly
blackish, but witli more or less ashy nebulation, to which wliitish variegation is added on
inner webs. Tail pretty regularly barred with black and ash, in other cases irregularly nebu-
lated with light and dark ash. The bill appears to have been blackish, the feet of some yel-
lowish color. Young birds are much darker. Central and South America and Mexico, a well-
known and most formidable bird of prey, reaching the Texas border of the Lower Rio Grande;
also, Louisiana?
A'QUILA. (Lat. aquiln, an eagle.) Goldex Eagles. Of great size, robust form, and
jxiwcrful pliysique, but in technical characters near Buteo and especially Arckibuteo. Tibia
extensively flagged. Tarsus closely feathered all around to the toes; toes mostly reticulate on
top, margined, outer and middle webbed at base. Hill large, long, very robust ; tomia lobed ;
nostrils oval, oblique; superciliary shield prominent. Wings long, pointed by 3d-5th quills,
2d sul)equal to (ith, 1st very short, 5 or (i emarginate on inner webs; 2d to 0th or 7th sinuate
on outer webs. Tail moderate, rounded, or graduated. Feathers of occiput and nape lanceolate,
acute, discrete, like a Raven's throat-plumes. Sexes alike ; clianges of plumage not great.
Tliis extensive genus includes Eagles properly so called, of which there are numerous Old
World species, but only one American.
A. chrysae'tus. (Gr. ;(puyafrof, chrusaetos, golden eagle. Fig. 473.) GoLUEX Eagle.
Rin(;-taili:i> Eagle. Black Eagle. Mountain Eagle. Adult (J 9 = Dark brown, with
jiurplish gloss, lighter on coverts of wings and tail and on flags or tarsi; the cowl of lanceolate
fcatlicrs g(dden-hrown. Quills and tail-feathers blackish, but basally more or less variegated or
areatcd witli liglit brown, gray, or whitish; at maturity these markings extensive and definite.
Young birds blacker than adults, wliich " grow gray," witli age, and are "ring-tailed," — that
is, basal portion and finally most of tail white, offset by a broad black terminal zone. Length
aljout .'ncct (or more); extent (i or 7 feet; wing 2 feet (^) or more (9); t:ii' 14.00-J5.00
incii('s((^) or more ( 9 ) ; bill, without cere, J. 50-1. 75; tarsus 3.50-4.00. This great bird
inhabits North America at large, as well as Europe, Asia, etc. ; in this country rather nortlicrly,
S. onhuarily to about 35°. The American is not fairly distinguished from the European, but on
the whole is a larger and " better" bird, like several others of the present family, as well as
of the goose and duck tribes. This I suppose to bo owing t«> tlie fact that there is more room
for them, more food, less persecution, and altogether less competition in tlie struggle for exist-
ence. It breeds chieliy in njoiiutaiuous or boreal regions, tlie eyrie being usually upon a crag,
696
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAPTORES — A CCIPITRES.
Fig. 473.-
H. W. Elliott.
- The Eyrie of the Golden Eagle. (Designed by
sometimes iu a tree, the nest a platform of sticks, etc., sometimes acquiring enormous dimen-
sions, by repair and addition year after year. The eggs are subspherical and equal-ended ;
five selected specimens measure : 2.05 X 2.15, 2.90 X 2.40, 3.00 X 2.35, 3.10 X 2.25, 3-25 X
2.55 ; average of many more, 3.00 X
2.30 ; in 12 oases, only one is white like
a Bald Eagle's; the rest are whitish,
wholly indeterminately spotted, splashed
and smirched with rich sienna, umber,
and bistre browns, with neutral-tint shell-
markings; 2 or 3 are laid, at times vary-
ing with latitude from midwinter to June.
The prowess of this Eagle is such that it
can prey upon fawns and lambs; but its
habitual (juarry is much more liumble.
HALIAE'TUS. (Gr. akidfros, Jialiaetos,
a sea-eagle; i. e., the osprey.) Sea
Eagi,es. Fishing Eagles. General
characters of Aquila, but tarsi only feath-
ered about Jdown, and no webbing between
outer and middle toes. This nakedness of
shank is an infallible character : among
the several different "kinds" of Eagles
popularly attributed to North America,
only two species have been found on this
continent : the one with feathered shanks
is Aquila chrysnetus ; the one with scaly shanks is Haltaetiis leucocejjhalus, whatever its size
or color. The reader of popular periodical literature about birds who comes across startling
statements of Eagles six feet long and ten feet broad may safely set them down to the credit
of journalistic enterprise, ah)ng with monkey-faced Owls, four-winged Quelelis, flying wolves,
two-headed snakes, and other fishy fairy tales. The scutellation of the tarsus varies in this
species; there is normally a short row of scales in fnnit, discontinued about the bases of the
toes, where are granular reticulations, the scutellation being resumed farther on the toes.
Wings pointed by 3d-5th quills ; 2d nearly equal to 6th; 1st longer than 9th; 5 to 6 einar-
giuate on inner webs. Tail rounded, of 12 rectrices. Feathers of neck all ai'ound lance-
acute, discrete. About 8 species of this genus are recognized ; one of them is appropriate to
this continent ; another occurs in Greenland.
Analysis of Species.
Adult with head and tail white leucocephalus
Adult with tail only white albicilla
H. albicilla. (Lat. albicilla, white-tailed.) White-tailed Sea Eagle. Erne. Adult
^ 9 : Dark brown, blackening on prunaries ; head and neck gray ; tail white. Bill and feet
yellow. Young with tail not white, and otherwise ditfta-ent, the whole plumage much varied
with light and dark browns. Lengtli of (J nearly or about 3 feet ; wiug 2 feet ; tail a foot ;
tarsus 3.50 inches ; bill 2.00 or more ; 9 larger : length up to 3J feet ; wing 2^ feet, etc.
Europe, etc., only North American as occurring in Greenland, where it breeds, making its
eyrie on cliffs; eggs 1-.3, usually 2, averaging abont 3.10 X 2. 25, white.
H. leucoceph'alus. (Gr. XfVKos, leucos, white ; K€(f)a\fi, Tcephale, head. Fig. 474.) White-
headed Sea Eagle. "Bald Eagle." "Bird of Washington " (the young). Adult
^9: Dark brown: quills black; head and tail white; bill, eyes, and feet yellow. Length
FALCONIDJE — BUTEONINM: EAGLES.
697
about 3 feet (or more) ; extent 6 or 7 feet ; wing 2 feet ( 9 ) or less {$); tail a foot, more ( 9 )
or less {$). Three years are required to perfect the white head and tail of the " hald " Eagle.
Fig. 474. — Bald Eagle. (From Tenney, after Wilson.)
The fii'st year, tlie young are "black" Eagles : very dark colored, with fleecy white bases of
the feathers showing here and there ; bill black ; iris brown ; feet yellow. Next year, they are
Fio. 47.''>. — Alaskan Wliito-lipa.U>>l EacU'. (L A. Fiiprtes.)
"gray" Eagles, usually larger than nld liirds, tlic lar-ri'st luiuwii .•^pcciinens being of this age.
Young in down are sooty-gray. Nortii Anicrica anywhere, eonunon — for an Eagle ; pisciv-
698 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— RAPTORES — ACCIPITRES.
orous ; a piratical parasite of the Osprey : otherwise notorious as the emblem of the republic.
There is a sort of jingoism about this bird which tickles the fancy of the average American
patriot, who imagines that it can be heard around the world when it rumples up its feathers
and screeches, making as much noise as a liritish lion with its tail twisted. It sometimes
fishes for itself, at others stoops to carrion like a vulture, and also preys upon water fowl and
mammals of considerable size. The nest is bulky, finally acquiring huge dimension by
annual accretions, generally placed high in a tail tree, often also on a clifi", bluff, or cut-
bank, rarely on level ground; eggs usually two, of whicli one is larger than the other, probably
hatching opposite sexes, sometimes 3, or only one ; average size 2.90 X 2.25, with extremes
of 3.05 X 2.35 and 2.45 X 2.00; color white, normally unmarked, rarely with a few spots.
Tliey are laid from November all through the winter on our southern border, all through the
spring in most latitudes, ov not till early summer in the far North.
H. 1. alasea'uus. (Lat. Alaskan. Fig. 475.) Alaskan Bald Eagle. Averaging some-
what larger. Wing 24.00-24.50; taU 11.50-12.00 ; tarsus 4.00 ; bill 2.50, its depth at base
1.50: thus at extremes of size for this species. Alaska; type from Unalaska Island. C. H.
TowNSEND, Pr. Biol. Soc Wasli. xi, June 9, 1897, p. 145 ; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan.
1899, p. 109, No. 352 a.
Obs. Thalassaetus pelagicus. (Gr. 6aKacr(Ta, Thalassa, the sea, ocean; Lat. pelagicuSy
pelagic, oceanic, marine.) White-shouldeked !Sea Eagle. Kamtschatkan Sea Eagle.
This most magnificent of the Eagles is found on the Commander Islands in Bering's Sea, as
well as on the Asiatic mainland, and no doubt sometimes files across to the neighboring Aleu-
tian islands, as our Bald Eagle easily makes the same fiiglit in the opposite direction, thus
figuring as a bird of Asia. A fair exchange would be no robbery, but we have no authentic
data for introducing the genus and species formally in the Key. Adult $ 9 • Dark brown ;
forehead, most of the wing-coverts, tail, rump, and thighs, pure white ; bill and feet chrome-
yellow ; iris pale yellow. Length of $ over 3 feet ; extent 7\ feet ; wing nearly 2 feet ; tail 14
inches, cuneate, graduated 4.00, with 14 feathers ; bill 2.50. 9 larger ; length nearly 4^ feet;
extent nearly 8 feet ; wing 2 feet or more. The great white area on the wings, involving the
lesser and middle coverts, is very conspicuous. Young birds are darker than the adults,
have the white parts more or less mixed with dusky, according to age, and the bill is not
bright yellow.
Family PANDIONID^ : Fish Hawks ; Ospreys.
See page 619. Plumage i)eculiar, close and firm, imbricated, oily, lacking after- sh afts ;
head densely feathered to eyes ; occipital feathers lengthened ; legs closely feathered, with-
out any sign of a fiag ; quills of wings and tail acuminate, stiff and hard; primary coverts of
similar character. Feet immensely hirge and strong, rouglily granular-reticulate ; tarsi little
featliered above in front ; toes all free to the base, the outer versatile. Claws very large, all
of equal lengths, subcylindric or tapering terete, not scoo[)ed out underneath, but all com-
pressed, and middle one sharply grooved on inner face. Bill toothless, contracted at cere, else-
where inriated, with very large hook ; gonys convex, ascending ; nostrils oval, oblique, without
tubercle, in edge of cere. The peculiarities of the plumage and of the feet are in evident
adaptation to the semi-aquatic piscivorous habits of these '' fishing hawks," which require a
water-proof covering, and great talons to grasp their slippery quarry- The structural char-
acters are rather those of buteonine than falconine birds of prey, in the coracoid arrangement,
etc. The tarso-metatarsus has a bony canal for the passage of the common extensor of the toes,
as in most Owls. The synqielmous condition of the flexor tendons occurs as in Falconidce,
but with the modification tluit while the flexor perforans has 3 tendinis for the 2d-4th toes the
flexor hallucis splits into four, which thus also supply the same 2d-4th toes as well as the 1st.
PANinONIDM: FISH HAWKS, OSPREYS.
699
The supraorbital shield is ruditnentary, leaving eye flush with side of head. The fomily con-
sists of a single genus, and probably but one cosmopolitan species, the well-l^nown Osprey,
Pandion haliaetus. It is made type of a suborder Pandiones by Sharpe, and reduced to a
subfamily of Falconidre by the A. O. U.
PANDION. (Gr. JJavdiuu, Lat. Pandion, nom. propr. Fig. 47G.) Ospreys. To the fore-
going add: Wings very long, pointed; 2d and 3d primaries longest; 1st between 3d and
5th ; 3 outer ones abruptly emarginate on inner webs, and 2d to 4th sinuate on outer webs.
Tail short, scarcely or not half as long as wing. Sexes alike; 9 larger. Young similar.
P. haliae'tiis carolinerisis. (See Haliaiitus.) Amehican Osprey. Fisil Hawk. Adult
^ 9 • Above, dark vaiidyki'-brown, blackcniiiLT "ti <|Mill-- ; fcat!ici-s of iippr-r purts more or less
completely edged witli
paler color — the older
the bird, the less con-
spicuous the white
markings except on
tlie head. Tail dark-
brown witli dusky
bars, white tip and
sliafts, and inner welis
of all but middle })air
of feathers regularly
barred with white and
dark, but these mark-
ings tending to obso-
lescence with increas-
ing age. Head, neck,
and under parts white ;
crown more or less ex-
tensively streaked with
blackish, and a heavy
b 1 a c k 1 s h j)Ostocular
stri[»e to nape ; breast
more ( 9 ) <>i" h'ss ( J )
spotted with dusky
brown ; the white more
or less tinged with
tawny in some places, especially under the wings and on the head, except in old birds. Colora-
tion very variable in relative amounts of dark and white colors, always irrespective of sex ; gen-
eral tendency with age to uniformity of dark tones on the back, wings, and tail, and purity of
wliite on the head and under parts. Bill blackish, bluing at ba.se and on cere; feet grayish-
blue; claws black; iris yellow or red. Length 2 feet or rather less ; extent about 5 feet;
wing 17..')0-21..j0; tail S.-W-IO.SO ; tar.sus 2.25 ; middle toe without claw 1.75 ; chord of cul-
mcn without cere 1.30 ; chord of claws nearly the same. Young: darker above than the old
birds, but the up{)er parts more mottled with white or buff edgings of the featiiers, and the
tail more regularly barred. Downy young much variegated with dusky, rusty, and whitish on
a gray ground. J^ntire temperate North America, over inland waters and especially along
sea-coasts, migratory, abundant. Few birds are better known than this indu.strious fisherman,
so often purveyor perforce of the IJald Eagle. Ikeeds anywiiere in its range; nest bulky,
finally acrpiiring enormous dimensions by yearly repairs and additions, placed usually in u tree
or stnut busli, sometimes on rocks or the ground; sometimes hundreds togetlier. Eggs laid
-Viler J. Woli.)
700 SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — RAP TORES — CA THA R TIDES.
in May in most latitudes, through June in the North, and from Fehruary to April in the South,
2 or usually 3, seldom 4, in number, very variable in size, say 2.50 X 1-85 on an average,
ranging frt)m 2.75 X 2.00 to 2.25 X 1.05, running through all the variations in color common
to Hawks' eggs, from a white to creamy, tawny or reddish ground, from few brownish mark-
ings to heaviest blotching with sienna, unibre, bistre, and sepia ; coloration usually richly red-
dish or mahogany. Some nests grow to be 6 or 8 feet in diameter, and as much in depth, and
smaller birds, such as Grackles, frequently build theirs in the interstices of the mass without
molestation from the bird of prey. This certainly proves the amiability of the Osprey ; and
the same association of birds raptorial and non-raptorial is witnessed in the West in the case
of Swainson's Buzzard, in the same tree with the nest of which, even in the substance of the
nest itself, have various small birds, such as the Arkansas Flycatcher, Hooded Oriole, and
Burion, been observed domiciled.
Suborder CATHARTIDES: American Vultures.
(Or SARCORHAMPHI.)
As already stated (page 618), the characters of this group, for which I proposed the above
name (New England Bird Life, vol. ii, p. 135), are of more than family value. The same
subordinal rank is recognized by the name of Sarcorhamphi in the A. 0. U. List. In no
event have these birds anything to do with Old World Vultures, which scarcely form a sub-
family apart from other FalconidcR. In a certain sense they represent the gallinaceous type
of structure ; our species of Cathartes, for instance, bears a curious superficial resemblance to
a Turkey. They lack the strength and spirit of typical Raptores, and rarely attack animala
capable of offering resistance ; they are voracious and indiscriminate gormandizers of carrion
and animal refuse of all sorts — efficient and almost indispensable scavengers in warm coun-
tries where they abound. They are uncleanly in their mode of feeding ; the nature of their
food renders them ill-scented, and when disturbed they eject the foetid contents of the crop.
Although not truly gregarious, they assemble in multitudes where food is plentiful, and some
species breed in communities. When gorged, they appear heavy and indisposed to exertion,
usually passing the period of digestion motionless, in a listless attitude, with wings half-spread.
But they spend umch time on wing, circling high in the air ; their flight is easy and graceful
in the extreme, capable of being indefinitely protracted. On the ground they habitually M^alk
instead of progressing by leaps. Possessing no vocal apparatus, these Vultures are almost
mute, emitting only a weak hissing sound.
Family CATHARTID^ : American Vultures.
(Or SARCORHAMPHID^.)
See page 618. Head and part of neck more or less completely bare of feathers, sometimes
caruncular ; eyes flush with side of head, not overshadowed by a superciliary siiield ; ears small
and simple. Bill lengthened, contracted toward base, moderately hooked and comparatively
weak. Nostrils very large, completely perforated, through lack of bony septum. Wings very
long, ample, and strong ; tail moderate. Anterior toes long for this order, webbed at base ;
hind toe elevated, very short ; claws comparatively lengthened, obtuse, little curved and weak.
To these external characters, which distinguish our Vultures, I may add that there are nu-
merous osteological peculiarities. No lower larynx is developed ; the capacious gullet dilates
into an immense crop ; coeca wanting ; carotids double. The feathers lack aftershafts ; plu-
mage sombre and unvaried, its changes slight ; sexes alike in plumage ; 9 "ot larger than $.
The famous Condor of the Andes, Sarcorliamphus gryphus ; the King Vulture, Gypagus or
CATHARTW.E—CArHARTIXyE: AMERICAX VULTURES. 701
Gyparchus papa, which probably occurs in Arizona, and species of three North American
genera, compose tlie family. It is divisible into two subfamilies, mainly according to the
presence or absence of caruncular excrescences on the head.
Subfamily SARCORHAMPHIN/E : Condors and King Vultures.
A Heshy comb or crest surmounting the base of the beak, or also arising from the fore-
head, with or witliout an additional fleshy wattle or dewlap. Bill very stout, with short cere.
In the $ Condor, the comb runs up on the head from the bill, and the throat is dewlapped,
something like the domestic Turkey's; these appendages arc wanting in the 9. The size
is great, though hardly surpassing that of Psei(do(/ri/])lii(s californianus ; the neck is collared
with white cottony down where the leathers begin; and the point of tlie primaries overreaches
the secondaries in the closed wing.
CiYPA'GUS. (Gr. yv^, fji^ps, a vulture; and ay6s. agos, a leader, ruler, chief. Tlie word is
well enough, and need not have been altered to Gijparchiis by Glogeu in 1842.) Kixo \v\,-
TURES. Comb small, confined to the short cere of the stout bill; no wattle or dewlaji. Wings
short ; secondaries reaching ends of primaries when closed. Size medium for the family ;
small for this subfamily ; sexes alike. One species.
G. pa'pa. (Lat. papa, father, the pope.) KiN(> VuLTURE. COZCACOAUHTL. Head and
upper neck naked of true feathers, the skin much wrinkled, on the hind head pinched up into
a sort of comb and extensively beset witli black bristles ; the fleshy excrescence on the bill
tumid, erected from a contracted base, like a polypus ; no cottony white collar on the neck, the
plumage there beginning in a rufl" of ordinary feathers, of a blackish ctdor ; a bare area on the
chest, over the crop. General [)lumage cream-colored or pale buff above, below white, with a
creamy or tawny tinge ; rump and whole tail, with its coverts, and most of the wings, black.
I)ill and naked parts of head and neck curiously variegated with black, blue, red, orange and
yellow ; iris white. Young, simply sooty brown, lacking also the harlerpiin visage of tlie old
birds. Length about 2| feet; wing 19.50 inches ; tail 10.00. Eggs white, about 3.70 X 2.G5.
Tropical continental America, X. probably over the border of Arizona. The supposed occur-
rence rests upon my own evidence, and is not conclusive ; but I have never doubted that I saw
a ]iiiir of these birds on the San Francisco (Verde) River, July 1.3, 1865 : see CouES, Pr. Phila.
Acad. 1866, p. 49, and Bull. Nutt. Club, Oct. 1881, p. 248 ; compare also the Sacred Vulture
ascribed to Florida by Bartram, Trav. 1791, p. 150; Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoiil. ii.
1^71, p. 313. I now first take the species into the K<'y, as it lias been placed on tlie A. <>. I'.
List, Hypothetical No. 12.
Subfamily CATHARTIN/E: Turkey Vultures.
No Heshy excrescences on the head in eitlier sex. Bill leiiirtheiied and comparatively
weak, with the cere longer than tlie rest of the iip[)cr niiiniliblr.
Anali/sis of Generti.
Head ami neck entirely naked ; tail Br|iiare ■"
Head and uiipcr piirt of neck naked ; tail rounded '.«
Head naked, l)ut featliers runuiug up to it behind ; tail iw|uaro ' '•»
I'SKUDOGRYTHUS. (Gr. "iTfvdos, p><eiuIos, false; Lat. //n/y*//*/*-, a gritlin ) Caliiokniax
CoNUOR. Size immense, about ecpialliiig that of the Andean Cond<ir. Head and neck entirely
bare, smooth, without caruncular appendages. No cervical nitr of snowy, downy featiiers;
plumage beginning over siioulders with loo.sc laiice-liiiear feathers, and that of under parts
generally of similar character. Frontal region de|tressed below h'Vt-l of iiitlateil cere, but gen-
eral profile straiglitish from hook of bill to hind head. Bill wide and de«'p, comparatively little
702
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— RAPTORES — CATHARTIDES.
hooked. Nasal passage much more contracted than nasal fossa. Wings of great amplitude,
folding to or beyond end of square tail ; ends of primaries uncovered by secondaries ; 4th or 5th
quills longest. Tarsus about as long as middle toe. One species.
P. california'nus. (Of California. Fig. 477.) Californian Condor. Queleli. Adult
(J 9 : Blackish, the feathers with bnjwner tips or edges, quite gray or even whitish on wing-
coverts and inner quills ; pri-
maries and tail-feathers black;
axillars and lining of M'ings
white ; bill yellowish, redden-
ing on cere, and skin of head
orange or reddish ; iris said by
some to be brown, by others
carmine. Length 4-4^ feet;
extent about 9|- feet ; said to
be sometimes "nearly 11 feet ; "
wing 2^-3 feet ; tail 1^-1 ^ feet ;
tarsus 4.50-5.00 inches ; mid-
dle toe without claw 4.00-4.50 ;
middle claw 1.90; hind claw
1.50; chord of culmen without
cere about ].50, but whole bill
about 4.00, whole head about
7.00 ; cere on top nearly 3.00 ;
weight 20-25 lbs. Young with
bill and naked parts dusky, and
more or less downy ; plumage
wathout white. Nestlings cov-
ered with whitish down. This
great creature rivals the South
American Condor in size, and
like it is powerful enougli to
destroy young or otherwise
lielpiess animals as large as
itself, though its usual food is
carrion. It formerly inhabited
the whole of the Pacific coast region from British Columbia to Lower California, E. to Ari-
zona, w^iere I saw it at Fort Yuma (mouth of the Gila) in 1865, and probably to some little
portion of Utah ; now much decreased in numbers, only locally distributed in Oregon and Cali-
fornia, and restricted in the breeding season to California W. of the Sierras Nevadas S. of lat.
37°, including some parts of Lower California; known to have occurred in Arizona (Auk,
July, 1899, p. 272). Casual in Alberta (Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 189). Early in this century it
abounded on the Columbia river, as we learn from the accounts of Lewis and Clark, and
others, who had diflSculty in keeping large game they had killed from the attacks of these for-
midable birds of prey. They are still common in certain localities, and not likely to be soon
exterminated, by poison or otherwise, as they are shy and sensible enough to betake themselves
to the roughest country to breed in inaccessible places. The nidification is like that of the
Turkey Buzzard ; but eggs whitisli, unmarked, narrowly elliptical, about 4.50 X 2.50. The
general habits appear to be the same as those of the Turkey Buzzard ; the flight is similar.
CATHAR'TES. (Gr. KadapTrji, kathartes, a purifier.) Turkey Buzzards. Of medium
size ; body slender. Whole head and upper part of neck naked, the plumage beginning as a
Fig. 477. — Californian Condor. (From Tenney, after Audubon. )
CATHARTID.E—CATHARTIX.E: AMERICAN VULTURES.
703
circlet of ordinary feathers all around neck in C. aura, but mounting the neck behind in
C. hurrorianus ; the naked skin corrugated and sparsely beset with bristles, especially a
patch before eye, where it is also caruncular or papillose. Bill long, moderately stout and
hooked; nostrils large, elliptical, with a raised rim completely pervious; cere contracted op-
posite them. Wings extremely long, not particularly broad, pointed, folding beyond tail,
which is short and rounded. Point of wing formed by 3d or 4th quill ; 2d and 5th nearly as
long ; 1st much shorter ; outer 4 or 5 emarginate on inner webs. Tarsus about as long as mid-
dle toe without claw. Of Cathartes as restricted several species are described, but only one is
established as North American. They are noted for their extraordinary powers of sailing flight.
Analysis of Species.
Plumage brownish, not peaked on the nape. Large : wing 20.00 or more. N. Am aura
Plumage black, peaked on the nape. Small: wing about 18.00. S. W. border? burrovinntis
C. au'ra. (Vox barb., name of the bird. Figs. 478, 479.) Common Turkey Vulture.
Turkey Buzzard. Adult $ 9= Bhickish-browu, grayer on wing-coverts; quills black,
ashy-gray on under
surface ; tail black,
with pale b r o w n
shafts. Head red,
from livid crimson to
pale carmine, with
whitish specks usu-
ally ; bill dead white ;
feet tiesh-colored ; iris
brown. Length 2;^
2i feet ; extent about
6 feet ; wing 2 feet or
less ; tail a foot or
less; tarsus 2.25
inches ; middle toe
without claw rather
more ; outer toe 1.50 ;
inner 1.25; hind 0.75;
chord of culmen with-
out cere 1.00. Weiglit
4-5 pounds. Young
darker than adults ;
bill and skin of head
<lark, latter downy.
Nestlings covered
with wliiti.sli down,
which extends upon
back of neck and head, but leaves the front and sides ban-: .-^kiii black. V. S. and British
provinces, S. througli Central and S. Am.; N. in Saskatchewan to about 55^; resi.ienl N. to
about 40° on the Atlantic side, and a few degrees farther on I'acitic coast, beyond which
migratory, being starved out in winter; casual in New England; breeds in most of ranjre.
Nests ordinarily on or near ground, in ludlow stumps or logs, generally in communities ; but
sometimes in hollows of dea.l tree-tops at a great height, or again on rocky ledges; in some
iiKstances the old nest of another bird, as a Hawk or Heron, is used. Kggs comnionly 2.
Fig. 47^. — Turkrv l'.u//..ir.l,
il'TMin I'.r. 1.1.
704
S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — RAP TORES — CA THA R TIDES.
IPBP
H'lJL'JMItH-'! '
■•■ S'TIS-T'"
, ^
'^raP^Hi^^H^^^lK
"^Hh
-'tW^^Z^^^^^^^^^^Btk
H^S
■4
HB^^B
9
V
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B i
'^n^^^^l
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hf
'a^^^^^l
.y^
riOk
■ Jm^
i
'■■^i
^^^K;
^^wH
i
I^^K
~ni8
Fig. 479. —Turkey Vulture.
sometimes 1, rarely 3, from 2.75 X 1-85 to 3.15 X 1-95, white or creamy, variously spotted
and blotched with diU'ereut bruwus, aod with laveuder or purplish-drab shell-markiugs, only
exceptionally immaculate ; they are laid
from the middle of February on our south-
ern border, to June in the highest lati-
tudes frequented by the bird. The young
are fed with filtli, by regm-gitation, like
s(iuabs and various altricial water-birds.
This Vulture has a curious habit of "play-
ing possum," by simulating death when
wounded and captured ; the feint is admi-
rably executed and often long protracted.
C. burrovia'nus. (To Dr. Burroughs.)
BuRROUGii's Turkey Vulture. A
small species, strictly of the form of C.
aura in proportions of wings and tail,
cliaracter of nostrils, etc., but with plu-
mage peaked on uape to occiput, as in
Catharista unihu. Adult ^ 9 '■ Black, with white shafts of primaries ; head blue and orange :
bill flesh color ; iris red. Length 24.00 or less ; wing under 20.00, and other parts corre-
spondingly less than those of C. aura, from w-hich quite distinct. Trf)pical and subtropical
America, attributed to California by Gambel (Journ. Acad. Piiila. i, p. 20), and to Texas by
Dresser (Ibis, 18G5, p. 322). Cassin, Pr. Phila. Acad. 1845, p. 212; 111. 1853, p. 59; B.
N. A. 1858, p. G, originally described from Vera Cruz and Mazatlau ; Elliot, B. N. A. 1866,
pi. 26, type figured. Not taken up in former editions of the Key. A. 0. U. Hypothetical
List, No. 13.
CATHARIS'TA. (Gr. Ka6api(oi, hifharizo, I purify.) Carrion-crows. Of medium size;
body stout. Head naked, and generally as in Cathartes, but feathers of neck running up be-
hind to a point on oc-
ciput; outline of plu-
mage thus very differ-
ent from that of C.
aura. Cere contracted ;
nostrils narrow, less
openly pervious than
in Cathartes. Wings
shorter and relatively
broader than in Ca-
thartes, not folding to
end of tail, which is
short, only about ^ the
wing, even or emar-
giuate; 4th and 5th
quills longest- The
difference in size and
shape between Ca-
thartes and Catharista ^'«- l^^O. -Black Vulture, I nat. size. (From Brehm.)
is strikingly displayed when the birds are seen flying together ; there is also a decided difier-
ence in mode of flight, as Catharista never sails for any distance without interrupting that
easy motion by flapping the wings.
COLUMB.E: COLUMBINE BIRDS.
705
C. urubu. (South American name of some bird of this family. Figs. 480, 481.) Carriox-
CROW. Black Vulture. Adult $ 9 : Entire plumage, including skin of head, and bill,
blackish ; shafts of primaries white, their
bases paling to gray or whitish. Tip of bill
and feet grayish-yellow; iris brown; claws
black. Smaller than C. aura, in linear di-
mensions, but a heavier bird ; length about
2 feet ; e.Ktent only about 4^ feet ; wing 17.00
inches; tail 8.00; tarsus ,S.OO; middle toe
rather less ; chord of culmen without cere
1.00 or less. Nesting like that of C. aura ;
eggs similar, but averaging larger, or at any
rate longer, being usually a little over ;3.00 X
2.00, though ranging from 3.3') X 2.:2() down
to 2.75 X 1-85 ; they are also tinged witli i)ale
greenish or bluisli ratlier than creamy in the
ground color, but in markings are indistin-
guishable from those of the other species ; the number is 2 as a rule, rarely 1 or 3, and the
period of dejiositiou runs from March to May. Chiefly S. Atlantic and Gulf States, especially
in maritime regions, there very numerous, outnumbering Turkey-Buzzards, and semi-domesti-
cated in the towns, where their good offices are appreciated ; N. regularly to North Carolina,
thence straggling to Massachusetts and even Maine; and up the Mississipjii Valley to Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, and casually South Dakota; not authenticated as occur-
ring on Pacific side, but of general distribution in Central and South America. C. alrata
(Bartram, 1791) of all former eds. of the Key, and of A. 0. U. Lists, 1886-9'): C. urubu
COUE.S, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 84; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 108.
Via. 481. — Black Vulture. (L. A. Fuertes.)
No one can fail to observe with interest the great difference in the form and general appearance of the Turkey-
buzzard and Carrion-crow when he compares them sitting side by side sunning themselves upon chimney or house-top ;
and especially the discrepancy in their mode of flight as they wheel together overhead in endless inosculating circles.
The Turkey-buzzards look larger as they fly, though really they are lighter weights ; they seem dingy-brown, with a
gray space underneath the wing ; the tail is long ; the fore-border of the wing is bent at a salient angle, and there is a
corresponding re-entrance in its hind outline ; the tips of the longest quills spread apart and bend upward ; and one may
watch these splendid tlyers for hours without perceiving a movement of the pinions. Comparing now the Carrion-crows,
they are seen to be more thick-set, with less sweep of wing and shorter and more rounded tail, beyond which the feet
may project ; the front edge of the wing is almost straight, and the back border sweeps around in a regular curve to meet
it at an obtuse point, where the ends of the quills are neither spread apart nor bent upward. The birds show almost block
insteixd of brown ; in pl.ice of a large gray area under the wing, there is a smaller paler gray spot at the jKjint of the wing.
And, finally, the Carrion-crows flap their wings five or six times in rapid succession, then sail a few momeuts ; their flight
appears heavy, and even laborious, beside the stately motion of their relatives.
Order COLUMB^ : Columbine Birds.
An essential character of birds typical of this group is found in structure of bill, which is
horny and ccmvex at tip, somewhat contracted in continuity, furnished at base with a tumid
membrane in which the nostrils open. Toes 4 ; 3 anterior, generally cleft to base, but ooca-
siniially witii slight webbing ; one behind, with few exceptions perfectly insistent or not obvi-
ously elevate(l. Feet desmopelmous in the ordinary way, never much lengthened; tarsus is
commonly shorter than toes, either scutellato or extensively feathered, reticulate on sides and
behind ; envidop rather membranous than corne<ius. (One North American genus, Staruirttas,
has entirely reticidate tarsus and elevated hallux.) On the whole, the feet are in.se.'<.sori«l, not
rasorial ; the habit is arboreal, not terrestrial ; but there are many irroiind pigeons, sonic quite
fowl-like; ;ind jirogression is always gradient, never saltatory. The wings and tail do uol
45
706 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — COL UMBuE — PERISTER^.
afford ordinal characters; but the rectrices are usually 12 or 14 instead of the higher numbers
usual in gallinaceous birds, but run up to ]6 in Goura and some species of Phaps, even to 20 in
Otidiphaps ; and the wings are usually long and tlat, not short and vaulted. Plumage desti-
tute of aftershafts (qu. Didus f). Syrinx with one pair of intrinsic muscles and asymmetrical
extrinsic muscles. Oil-gland nude, when present (small in Treron, etc. ; wanting in Goura,
Starncenas) ; gall-bladder generally absent (present exceptionally in some true Pigeons) ;
coeca absent, or present, but small ; two carotids ; gizzard muscular, sometimes in part horny
or even osseous ; a well-developed oesophageal crop ; intestine varying from very short to ex-
tremely long (7 feet long in Didunculus !). There are many good osteological characters;
palate schizognathous ; nasal bones schizorhinal ; basipterygoids present (except in Didus) ;
sternum doubly notched, or notched and fenestrate, on each side ; pectoral ridge of humerus
salient and acute, and does not receive the insertion of the 2d pectoral muscle ; ambiens nor-
mally present, the birds being unquestionably homalogonatous, but sometimes lost ; femoro-
caudal, accessory femoro-caudal, semitendinosus, and accessory semitendinosus present ; the
fourth glutseal muscle, which in other schizorhinal birds covers the femur-head, is undeveloped
(Garrod).
Some ornithologists, like Liljeborg, enlarge the Columbine order, under name of Pullas-
tra, to receive the American Curassows (Cracida — see beyond) and Old World Big-feet, or
Mound-birds {Megcqwdidce) ; mainly on account, it would appear, of the low position of the
hallux in these families. But the balance of characters favors their reference to the gallina-
ceous series, where they are relegated by Huxley. While there is no question that Columbine
birds are very closely related to Galline, in fact inosculating therewith, it seems best to draw
the line, if one must be drawn, so as to leave the CracidcE and 31egapodidce with Gallince.
The Sand-grouse (better Sand-})igeons), or Pterodetes, represent the inosculation of the
two series. They are terrestrial Columbines, modified for a grouse-like life ; the digestive sys-
tem is fowl-like (coeca several inches long, etc.) ; but the pterylosis, the sternum and humerus,
the cranial and many other characters, are pigeon-like. The skull is schizognathous and
holorhinal, with basipterygoids ; cervical vertel)rfe 15 or IG. The ambiens and other classifi-
catory muscles of the legs (A B X Y) are present, together with the biceps slip and expansor
of the secondaries. The intrinsic syringeal muscles are highly developed. There are two
carotids, a nude oil-gland, and gall-bladder. The plumage is aftershafted, and covers the feet
to the claws ; the wings are aquintocubital. The young hatch downy. Of the two genera,
Pterocles is 4-toed, Syrrhap)tes 3-toed. The only alternative to reference of Pterodetes to the
Columbine series is their elevation to independent ordinal rank, as proposed by Huxley, and
as now generally agreed upon by ornithologists. I accordingly modify some expressions used
in former editions of the Key, in order to characterize the Columbce more strictly, by exclu-
sion of Pterodetes therefrom.
The Columhce, as above indicated, are exactly conformable to Huxley's Peristeromorphce.
Assuming the imperfectly known extinct Dodo, Didus ineptiis, and such of its kindred as the
Solitaire, Pezophaps solitarius, to have been modified Columbines, the order may be separated
into two suborders, Diui and Perister.e. The Peristerce alone are American.
Suborder PERISTERiE : True Columbine Birds.
(Equivalent to Coliimhce proper of most authors, Peristeromorphce of Huxley; Gemitores
of Macgillivray, or Gyraiites of Bona])arte plus Didunculus ; Columbce of Garrod minus Ptero-
detes ; Pullastrce of Liljeborg minus CracidcB and Megnpodidcc.) Skull schizognathous,
schizorhinal ; basipterygoids prominent (they are absent from Dldi) ; angle of mandible not
produced but abruptly truncate ; rostrum externally as abovesaid. Dorsal vertebrje hetero-
coelous. Sternum double-notched, or notched and fenestrate, on each side, rarely single-notched
PERISTEILE: TRUE COLUMBINE BIRDS. 707
{Geopliaps). When there are a pair of notches on each side, the outer processes are short, as
in Gallince. Furculutn well developed and complete (it is reduced in the flightless Didi) ;
pectoral crest of humerus, salient, acute. Carotids two. Syringeal muscles one pair. Coeca
coli small, rudimentary, or wanting; gizzard muscular; crop developed; gall-bladder generally
absent (present in Carpophaga, etc.). Fourth glutaeal muscle undeveloped; second pectoral
specially inserted ; ambiens normally present, or wanting ; deep plantar tendons desmopel-
mous, that of the hallux alone supplying its own digit. Oil-gland nude, small, or wanting.
Plumage without aftershafts, or with only very small ones; wings aquintocubital ; spinal
pteryla well defined, forked over the shoulders. Feet insessorial ; hallux normally insistent,
in some terrestrial genera somewhat elevated and shortened ; tarsus normally scutellate in
front, reticulate on the sides and behind, rarely entirely reticulate (Gouridfe). Rectrices nor-
mally 12 or 14, exceptionally IG or 20. Primaries 11. Altricial; psilopaedic ; monogamous;
nidificant ; eggs ordinarily one pair, white.
The PeristercB will be immediately recognized by their likeness to the familiar inmates of
the dove-cot. One seemingly trivial circumstance is so constant as to become a good clue to
these birds : the frontal feathers do not form antife by extension on either side of culmen, but
sweep across base of bill with a strongly convex outline projected on culmen, thence rapidly
retreating to the commissural point. The plumuleless plumage is generally com])act, with
thickened, spongy rhachis, the insertion of which will seem loose to one who skins a bird of
this suborder. The head is remarkably small ; nock moderate ; body full, especially in the
pectoral region. The wings are strong, generally lengthened and pointed, conferring a rapid,
powerful, whistling flight ; the peculiar aerial evolutions that these birds are wont to perform
have furnished the synonym Gyrantes. The tail varies in shape, from square to graduate, but
is never forked ; as a rule tliere are 12 rectrices, frequently increased to 14, as in nearly all the
Treronidfe, rarely to 16 in the genera Thoracotreron, Phaps, and whole family Gouridcc, ex-
ceptionally to 20 in the genus Otidiphaps ; all the North American genera have 12, excepting
Zenaidura, with 14. The feet show considerable modification, when strictly arboricole are
compared with more terrestrial species ; their general character has been indicated above. The
gizzard is large and muscular, particularly in species that feed on seeds and other hard fruits ;
tlie gullet dilates to form a capacious circumscribed crcqi, divided into lateral halves, or tend-
ing to that state. This organ at times secretes a peculiar milky fluid, which, mixed with
macerated food, is poured by regurgitation directly into the mouth of the young; thus the
fabled " pigeon's milk" has a strong spice of fact, and in this remarkable circumstance we see
probably the nearest approach, among birds, to the characteristic function of mammals. " The
voice of the turtle is heard in the land " as a plaintive cooing, so characteristic as to have
afforded another name for the suborder, Gemitores. Pigeons are altricial, i)silopa;dic, and mo-
nogamous — doubly monogamous, as is said when both sexes incubate and care for the young ;
this is a strong trait, compared with the pryecocial, ptilopajdic, and often polygamous nature
of rasorial birds. They are amorous birds, whose passion generally results in a tender and
constant devotion, edifying to contemphito, but is often marked by high irascibility and jnig-
nacity — traits at variance with the amiable meekness which Doves are supposed to symbolize.
Tlicir bliinduess is supposed to be due to absence of tiie gall-bladder. The nest, as a rule, is
a rude, frail, flat structure of twigs; the eggs are usually 2 in number, sometimes 1, wliite ;
when 2, supposed to contain the germs of opposite sexes ; the period of incubation is usually
between 2 and 3 weeks.
" The entire number of Pigeons known to exi.^^t is about 300 ; of these tin- Malay Archi-
pelago already counts 118, while oidy 28 are found iu India, 23 in Australia, less tlian 40 in
Africa, and not more than 80 iu the whole of America." (The total number of species now
known is about 475, but this increase over fortnerly known ones does not materially atfect tlie
relative proportions of the figures here said.) Tliey focus in the small district of whicli New
708 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— COLUMBjE — PERISTERjE.
Guinea is the centre, where more than a fourth of the species occur. Mr. Wallace accounts for
this by the absence of fruit-eating forest mammals, sucli as monkeys and squirrels ; and finds
in the converse the reason why Pigeons are so scarce in the Amazon valley, and there chiefly
represented by species feeding much on the ground and breeding in the bushes lower than
monkeys habitually descend. " In the Malay countries, also, there are no great families of
fruit-eating Passeres, and their place seems to be taken by the true Fruit-Pigeons, which, un-
checked by rivals or enemies, often form with the Psittaci the prominent and characteristic
features of the Avifauna." {Newton.)
There are several prominent groups of Pigeons ; but authors are far from agreed upon
subdivisions of the family. It is not probable that Garrod's tliree subfamilies, based upon
characters of ambiens, coeca, gall-bladder, and oil-gland, will stand without great modification,
and I cannot adopt his arrangement. Sclater divided the suborder Columhce as above defined
into two families, ColnmhidcB and CarpophariidcB, to which he afterward added Gowidce, and
probably Didunculidce. Bonaparte made five families, Didunculid(e, Treronidce, Columbidce,
Caloenadidce, and Gouridce (three of them upon single genera), with 12 subfamilies. This is a
pretty good scheme, the main features of which are reflected in the classification adopted by the
latest monographer. Thus, Salvadori has also five families, as follows : 1. Treronid^, with
subfamilies Treronina;, Ptilopodince, and Cariwpliagince. 2. ColumbidvE, with subfamilies
Colmnbinoe, Macropyfiiincc, and Ectopistincc. 3. Peristerid^, with subfamilies Zenaidina,
Turturince, Geopeliince, Peristerincc, Phahince, Geotrygonina;, and Ccdocnadincc. 4. Gouridje,
one genus. 5. Didunculid^, one genus. From this number of families I would not dissent,
but propose to raise Caloenadince to the rank of a family, and unite Salvadori's Peristeridce with
his Columhidce, thus reverting to the Bonapartian evaluation of the five major groups, whose
characters may be thus indicated : —
1. The extraordinary Tooth-billed Pigeon of the Samoan Islands, Diduncidus striyirostris,
alone represents a family, with its stout, compressed, hooked, and toothed beak, and many
other peculiarities. The length of intestine is excessive, being 7 feet instead of about 2, as
usual in Columbidce. Ambiens present; oil-gland and gall-bladder absent; 14 tail-feathers.
(DlDUNCULID^E.)
2. The singular genus Goura, with six Papuan species like G. coronata, is outwardly dis-
tinguished by its immense umbrella-like crest of feathers whose webs are decomposed, and
possesses anatomical peculiarities which entitle it to stand alone as type of another family.
Tarsi entirely reticulate ; 16 rectrices ; coeca, gall-bladder, oil-gland, * and ambiens wanting ;
intestines 4-5 feet long ; the pterylosis is galline rather than columbine, and the period of incu-
bation is greatly protracted (4 weeks) (Gourid.e.)
3. The single Malaysian genus Ccdcenas, with two species, C. nicobarica and C pele-
wensis, has a very tumid bill, and acuminate, lengthened, pendulous feathers of neck like those
of the domestic cock and hen ; 12 rectrices, as in ordinary Pigeons, and the anatomy is con-
formable to a usual type, except that the lining of the gizzard is ossified. (Calcenadid^.)
4. The Old World genera Treron, Ptilopus, and Carpophaga are leading representatives
of a large group of fruit-eating, arboricole species, with a short, stout beak, short, soft, broad-
soled, and extensively feathered feet, normally 14 rectrices (very exceptionally 12 or 16), and
soft, lustreless plumage, of which green is the characteristic color; " 54 species are confined
to the Austro-Malayan, while 28 inhabit the Indo-Malayan, subregion ; in India 14, and
in Africa a species are found ; 30 inhabit the Pacific Islands, and 8 occur in Australia or
New Zealand, while New Guinea has 14 species'' {Wallace). (Family Treronid^, di-
vided by Salvadori into : Treronince, 7 genera, 43 species ; Ptilopodin^, 5 genera (one
of them, Ptilopus, M-ith 12 subgenera), 88 living species ; and Carpophagincs, 7 genera (one
* Beddard has, p. 314, "with " these organs, by evident slip for "without," as he marks them all absent in his
table on p. 312.
columbid^—columbinjE: arboreal pigeons. 709
of them, Carpophaga, with 6 subgenera), 59 living species. All are commonly called " Fruit
Pigeons.")
5. All remaining members of the suborder Peristerce may reasonably be held to consti-
tute the single
Family COLUMBID^: True Pigeons or Doves.
Keadily recognized by exclusion of the characters of the four families above indicated. These
birds are Columbidce plus Peristeridce and minus Caloenadince, of 8alvadori. Broadly speaking
they fall in two series, corresponding to these two Salvadorian families ; but the nicer sub-
divisions are less easily determined, in view of their various interrelationships, (a) We may
confidently begin by setting aside in a subfamily ColumbincB a certain group of arboreal Pig-
eons with short feet, at least partly feathered and scutellate tarsi, always 12-feathered tail, 2
ccBca, an oil-gland, an ainbiens, and no gall-bladder. Tlie leading genera of this subfamily
are the square-tailed Columba, of both Old and New Worlds, tlie wedge-tailed Macropygia of
the Old W(jrld, and its representative in the New, the wedge-tailed Ectopistes. (6) All
other Columbidce are of more or less terrestrial habits, and have lengthened tarsi more or less
completely bare of feathers. Most of them agree in possessing an ambiens and oil-gland, but
no cojca and no gall-bladder. These Ground Doves are exemplified by such genera as Peristera
and Melopelia witli 12 rectrices, and Zenaidura\\\i\\ 14, of America ; by Lojjholcemiis with J 2,
Geopelia, Phlogcenas, and Oci/phaps with 14, and Pimps with 16, of the Old World. They
are the Zenaidincc and Phapince of Bonaparte; the Zenaidince, Turturince, GeopeliincB, Peris-
ierince, Phabincc, and Geotrygonince of Salvador!; and they correspond to the Phapinae of
Garrod. I doubt that so many as six subfamilies can be established upon any structural char-
acters, and also believe that those just named should be reconstructed with more regard to
geographical distribution. The Bonapartiau Zenaidince would seem to cover all the American
Ground Doves, with the probable exception of the genus Starnoenas, which diflfers from the
rest more notably than authors, excepting Garrod, seem to have appreciated, though it is con-
nected with the others by the genus Geotrygon; it is a pullet-like Ground Pigeon with long
reticulate tarsus, short and somewhat elevated hind toe, two coeca, and no oil-gland nor ambi-
<'ns — the reverse of the rule in Zenaidince. On these accounts I made it the type of a sub-
family StarncenadincB in the second edition of the Key, 1884.
Of the several groups thus indicated, 3 are North American. They may readily be dis-
tinguished as follows :
Analysis of North American Subfamilies of Columbidce.
Tarsi scutellate, feathered Columhince
Tarsi scutellate, naked Zenaidincc
Tarsi reticulate, naked Slarnoenadinct
Subfamily COLUMBIN>E : Arboreal Pigeons.
Feet and l>ill small ; tarsus short, not Ioniser tlian lateral toes, scutellate in front, feath-
ered above. Wing pointed. Tail variable in shape, of 12 rectrices.
Analysis of Genera.
Tail nearly even, much shorter tlian the wing, with broad obtuse feathers Cotumlta
Tail long, cuncate, equal to wiugs, with narrow tapering feathers Kctoyistrs
C'OLUM'BA. (Lat. columba, a piijfon.) Bill short and comparatively stout, about half as
liiiii,' as head. Wiiiirs pointed, 2d and '-V\ quills longest. No black spots on scapulars. Lat-
eral toes of about eijual lengths, witli claws about as long as middle toe without; hind too
710 SYSTEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — COL UMB.E — PERISTER.E.
and claw about as long as lateral without. Coutaiiis the domestic Pigeon, C. livia ; Stock
Dove, C. anas; Ring Dove, C. palumbus, and numerous other species of both hemi-
spheres.
Analysis of Species.
A white band on nape ; metallic scales of nape without borders. Tail with light terminal and dark subterminal bars ;
bill and feet yellow, former black-tipped fasciata
No white on head ; no metallic scales on nape ; tail not banded ; bill and feet not yellow flavirostris
Top of head white ; tail not banded ; metallic feathers of nape black-bordered leucocep/iala
See description, below, for squamosa
C. fascia'ta. (Lat. fasciata, banded ; alluding to the bars on the tail.) Band-tailed
Pigeon. White-collared Pigeon. Adult ^ : Head, neck, and under parts purplish
wine-red, fading to white on belly and crissum; nape with a distinct white half-collar; cervix
with a patch of metallic, scaly, bronze-green feathers. Rump, upper tail-coverts, lining of
wings, and sides i>f body, slaty-blue. Back and scapulars dark greenish-brown, with consid-
erable lustre, changing on wing-coverts to slaty-blue, these feathers with light edging. Quills
blackish-brown, with pale edging along sinuous portion of outer webs. Tail bluish-ash, paler
beyond the middle on top and much paler below, crossed at the middle by a black bar. Bill
yellow, tipped with black; feet yellow, claws black ; a red ring round eye — these colors con-
spicuous in life. A large stout species: length 16.00; extent about 27.00 ; wing 8.00-8.50,
pointed; tail 5.50-6.00, square; bill 0.75, stout for a Pigeon ; tarsus 1.00, feathered half-way
down in front ; middle toe and claw 1.67. Adult 9 '• Back, wings, and tail, as in ^; metallic
scales and white collar obscure or wanting. Head and under parts much less purplish, the rich
hue replaced by a rusty-brown wash on an ashy ground ; yellow of feet and bill obscured ;
smaller; wing 7.50; tail 4.75. Young ^: Resembling 9 hi dulness of coloration, but the feath-
ers of most parts with indistinct light edgings; no sign of a clean collar, under parts dull gray,
browner on the breast. Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, U. S. and British Columbia, S. to Guate-
mala, common and of general but irregular distribution, chiefly in woodland, and especially
where acorns, upon which it largely subsists, can be procured ; sometimes in flocks of great
extent. Nest very slight and frail, in trees and bushes, rarely on the ground ; eggs 2, on our
southern border only one as a rule, equal-ended, Avhite, glistening, averaging 1.60 X 1-15,
ranging from 1.75 X 1-20 down to 1.45 X 1-10, laid in almost every month of the year, and
said to be sometimes carried about by the 9 •
C. f . vios'cae. (To Mr. Viosca, U. S. Consul, La Paz, Lower California.) Viosca's
Pigeon. Similar to C fasciata, but with the tail-band wanting or only ftiintly indicated,
the general coloration lighter and more uniform, the vinaceous tints, especially, being nnjre or
less replaced by bluish-ash. Lower California. Brewst. Auk, Jan. 1888, p. 86 ; CouES,
Key, 4th ed, 1890, p. 904 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 312 a.
C. flaviros'tris. (Lat. flavirostris, yellow-billed; Jlavus, yellow; rostrum, beak.) Red-
billed Pigeon. Adult ^i Head, neck, and breast dark purplish wine-red, with a slight
glaucous overcast, like the bloom on a grape ; no metallic scales on neck. Middle wing-
coverts like the head. Middle of back, and some inner wing-quills, dark olive-brown with a
bronze-green gloss. Greater wing-coverts, lining of wings, sides of body, belly, crissum, and
rump, slate-colored, sometimes quite sooty, sometimes more bluish; tail like rump, but more
blackish, quite uniform, having no lighter or darker bands. Quills of wing dark slate with
narrow pale edging. Bill pink for basal half, rest pale horn-color; feet purplish-red, with
pale claws; eye-ring red; iris orange. Bill and feet drying an undefinable color. Bill re-
markable for forward extension of feathers on culmen, to within 0.50 of tip, covering nasal scale.
Length 13.50-14.50; extent 23.00-25.00; wing 7.50-8.00; tail 5.00-5.50; tarsus 0.87;
middle toe and claw 1.50. 9 '^"d yr>ung similar, duller, and more dilute in color, the wine-red
and slate-color more ashy. Central America, Mexico, Lower California, N. to Texas, New
columbidjE—columbin.E: arboreal pigeons.
711
Mexico, and Arizona ; a dark, riclily colored Pigeon, common in the valley of the Lower Rio
Grande during most of the year. Nest in trees and bushes, of twigs, grasses, and roots, well-
formed for a Pigeon's ; egg single, in all instances observed in the U. S., equal-ended, glisten-
ing white; averaging 1.55 X 1-10; laid mostly in April, May, but also irregularly in other
months. (C. erythrina of previous editiims of the Key — a name I used to avoid saying
" fiavirostris " for a bird whose bill is not yellow, though the red may fade to a dingy yellow-
isli in dried skins.)
C. leucoce'phala. (Gr. Xfv/co'j, leucos, white; Kecf)a\rj. }:ephale, Iiead.) White-crowked
Pigeon. Adult $ 9 • D'H"'^ slaty, paler below, the quills and tail-feathers darkest. Whole
top of head pure white ; hind neck above ricli maroon-brown, lower down and laterally metallic
golden-green, each feather black-edged, giving the appearance of scales. Bill and feet dark
carmine or lake red, tip of former bluish-white; bill drying dusky with yellowish tip, feet
dingy yellowish. Iris yellow or white. Length 13.00-14.00; e.\'tent 23.00; wiog7.50; tail
5.75. 9 *'"ly duller than $. West Indies aud Florida Keys. Nest in trees and bushes, of
twigs, roots, and grasses; eggs 2, wliite, 1.45 X 1-05.
C. squamo'sa. (Lat. squamosa, scaly ; squama, a scale.) SQUAMOUS PiGEOX. Adult ^:
Head, neck, and breast rich viuous ; no white on head ; sides of neck metallic violet, each
feather distinctly edged with velvety maroon ; general pliniiage dark plumbeous, scarcely
paler below; quills with narrow light edgings; tail dark slate; bill lake red, tipped with yel-
lowish white; bare skin round eyes dull red with a yellowish bloom; iris with scarlet inner
and golden outer ring ; feet lake red ; claws dark horn color. Length about 14.00 ; wing 8.50;
tail 6.00; bill 0.62; tarsus 1.08. 9 similar, rather smaller and duller. Young: brown, with
rufus chestnut tips of the feathers. West Indies, except Jamaica and Bahamas ; casual at
Key West, Florida, one specimen, adult 9, Oct. 24, 1898 (Auk, July, 1899, p. 272).
C. corensis, Temm. 1813, nee Jacq. 1784. C squamosa, Bonn. Tabl. Ency. Meth. i, 1790,
p. 234.
ECTOPIS'TKS. (Gr. eKTonicTrrj^, ektopistes, a wanderer; very appropriate.) PASSENGER
I'lcEONS. Tail long, eijuul to wini,^s, ('uiieate, of 12 tnpering acuminate featliers, ])arti-colored.
AVing acutely pointed
by first 3 primaries,
with bhick spots on
coverts. Bill small,
with culmeu less than
half the head, short
gonys, feathered far
forward between the
rami. Tarsi short,
feathered part way
down in front, where
scutelhite, but not in
one regular row of
scales. Lateral toes
unequal. Sexes un-
like.
K. Ill injrato'rius.
(Lilt. i>ii[iratorius, mi-
gratory. Fig. 482.) Passenger Pigeon. W^ild Pigeon. Adult (;J: Upper parts, includ-
ing iiead all around, slaty-blue, bright and pure on liead and rump, shaded with olivaceous-
gray ou back and wings; back and sides of neck glittering witli golden and violet iritlescence ;
wing-coverts with velvety-black spots. Below, from throat, light purplish-chestuut, paler
Fio. 482. — Passenger Pigeon. (From Tenney, after Wilson.)
712 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — COL UMBM — PERISTERjE.
behind ami fading into white on lower belly and crissum. Tibise, sides of body, and lining
of wings like upper parts. Quills blackish, with rufous-white edging. Two middle tail-feath-
ers blackish ; others fading from pearly-bluish into white, their extreme bases with black and
chestnut spots. Bill black; feet lake red, drying an undefinable color; iris orange; skin about
eye red. Length about 17.00, but very variable, according to development of tail ; extent
23.00-25.00; wing 8.00-8.50; tail about the same, the lateral feathers graduated rather more
than half its length; bill 0.75; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw, 1.25. Adult 9- Upper
parts, wings, and tail, as in $; below, brownish-gray, fading posteriorly. Young: Like 9»
but still duller ; little or no clear slaty except on rump ; plumage varied with white crescentic
edges of the feathers, especially on back and wings ; quills edged about with rufous; most of
the lateral tail-feathers gray. " Wanders continually in search of food throughout all parts of
North America ; wonderfully abundant at times in particular districts ; " chiefly, however,
woodland of North America, E. of the Rocky Mountains, casually only W. of them. We do not
now have the millions that the earlier writers speak of in the Eastern United States ; and no
contract for service has for many years included a clause that the hireling should not be fed too
often on wild Pigeons or salmon ; but I remember one great flight over Washington, D. C,
when I was a boy, about 1858, and I witnessed in 1873 another, of countless thousands, on
the Red River of the North ; the greatest roosts and flights we now (1897) hear of are in the
upper Mississippi Valley, though some of the birds may still breed in various wooded places
all along our northern border and northward to Hudson's Bay. The Wild Pigeon seems now
a passenger to happier hunting-grounds than it or the Indian has ever found in this country,
in the wake of the bison and the fur seal ; it has been often subjected to merciless and almost
wanton destruction by hundreds of thousands at a single roost in a single season ; and if it is
not entirely exterminated soon, it will be only because there are too few left to pay for perse-
cution. Nest in trees and bushes, usually a slight frail platform of twigs, so open as to leave
the egg visible from below. Eggs 1 or 2, equal-ended, 1.45 X 1-05.
Subfamily ZENAIDIN>E: Ground Doves.
Feet larger than in Columbince. Tarsus lengthened to exceed lateral toes, entirely naked
and scutellate in front (scarcely feathered in Scarda fella) . Tail-feathers normally 12, rarely
14 or more (Zenaiclura the only North American Pigeon with more than 12). Seven North
American genera, each (excepting Geotrygon) of a single species in this country. (The name
of the subfamily may preferably be changed to Peristerince, for the reason that the generic
name Perisiera antedates Zenaida.)
Analysis of Genera.
Tail of 14 feathers, long and wedge-shaped Zenaidura
Tail of 12 feathers.
Outer primary attenuate, bistoury-like Engyptila
Outer primary normal.
Tail longer than wing, double-rounded Scardafella
Tail about equal to wing. Tar.sus not shorter than middle toe and claw Geotrygon
Tail shorter than wing Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw.
No blue-black spot nor metallic lustre on head or neck Coluiuhignllina
A blue-black spot and metallic lustre on head or neck.
Black spots and no white patch on wing Zenaida
White patch and no black spots on wing Melopelia
ENGYP'TILA. (Gr. iyyvs, efjfjus, narrow, straitened ; tttiXoi/, 2)tilo)i, feather ; alluding to the
outer primary.) PiN-wiNG DoVES. First primary abruptly emarginate, attenuate and linear
near tlie end. Wings of moderate length ; 3d and 4th primaries longest ; 1st shorter than 7th.
Tail much shorter than wings, rounded, of 12 broad feathers. Tarsus entirely naked, equalling
COLUMBID.E — ZENAIDIN^: GROUND DOVES.
713
or rather exceeding middle toe and c-law. Lateral toes nearly equal, ends of their claws reach-
ing about opposite base of middle claw. Hind toe shortest of all, but perfectly incumbent.
]}ill small and slender, much shorter tlian liead. A considerable naked space about eye, thence
extending in a narrow line to bill. Si/e medium or rather small. Body full and stout. Color-
ation subdued, but hind-head and neck iridescent. No metallic spots on wing or head. Lining
of wings chestnut. (Only North American genus with attenuate outer primary.) (Leptotilu I
Sw. 1837, correctly Leptoptila G. 11. Guay, 1841, antedated by Leptoptilos Less. 1831, a
genus of Storks; the fact that Swaiuscm niisspelled it docs not justify its use by the A. 0. U.
for this genus of Pigeons, for it is just as much preoccupied in its wrong form as it is in its
right form, in either case being identically the same word as Leptoptilos. Engijptila Sund.
Tent. 1873, p. 156, and of 2d-4th editions of the Key; I had overlooked this name when I
jiroposed JJ'^.chmoptiJa in 1878. Homopiila Salvad. 1871.)
E. fulviveiitris brachyptera. (Lat. fulnis, fulvous ; venter, belly. Gr. I3paxvs, brachus,
short; TTTfpoV, p)teron, wing. Fig. 483.) White-fronteu Dove. Adult ^•. Upper parts
U^
Fio. 48.3. — Details of EngyptUa /ulvivenlris brachyptern ; head and foot nat. size: wing and tail
reduced. (Ad. nat. del. R. Ridgway.)
browiiisli-olive, with silky lustre (mucli as in Coccijzhs americanus, for example). Hind-head,
nape, and back and sides of neck with coppery-pur[)li.s]i iridescence. Top of liead of a bluish
or glaucous '* bloom," fading to creamy-wiiite on forehead. Under parts dull white or whitish,
more or less sliaded with olive-brnwn on sides, deepening on fore-breast and jugulum to pale
vinaceous ; belly, crissum, and chin quite }iurely white. Wing-coverts and inner quills like
back, and without metallic spots ; other large remiges slaty-l)lackish, with very narrow pale
edging toward the end. Under wing-coverts and axillaries bright chestnut. Two middle tail-
feathers like back; others slaty-black, tipped with white in decreasing amount from the outer
ones inward, the largest white tips about O.oO in extent. Hill black. Feet carmine-red. Iris
yellow. Bare skin around eye red and livid blue. Length l:2.()()-12.r)() ; extent 1D.01)-1!» ..lO ;
wing (i.()()-(>..3(); tail 4.t>.")-4..")(); bill ().(;(M>.7U ; tarsus l.'.25-1.3.") ; middle toe ami claw rather
liss. 9 similar, duller everywhere, and especially less iriilesceut on the neck. Central
-Vmerica and Mexico to the Lower Ivio Grande of Texas, where it is found during most of the
year, and is known to Imcd. Xr.-t in a liiish, large for a Pigeon's, of slick.s, twigs, and weed-
vstrips ; eggs 2, creamy or pale bully wiiite, 1.122 X ••.72. This bird was ailded to our fauna by
714 ^' YS 2 'EMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — COL UMB.E — PERIS TER^.
Sennett (Coues, Bull. Nutt. Club, July, 1877, p. 82). It has au extremely unfortunate synony-
matic record. Besides all the trouble with the generic name (see above), it bears the follovvin<'- :
Peristera hmchi/ptera G. R. GtUAY, 185(3, a bare name having no standing till used as Leptoptila
hraclujptera by Salvadori, in 18'J3, for the stock species. Leptoptila ulbifrons, of authors,
not of Bp., whose bird turns out to be another species, ^chmoptila ulbifrons Coues, 1878.
Engyptila albifrons Coues, Key, 2d-4th eds. 1884-90, p. 567; Riugw. Man. 1887, p. 214;
A. 0. U. List, 1886, No, 318. Leptoptila falHcentris Lawr. 1882, and Engyjjtila fitlfiventris
Lawr. 1885, being the earliest names given with a description to the stock form from Yuca-
tan, and our bird being a subspecies of that, it becomes fulviventris hracliyptera ; and this
phrase, coupled with the misspelled generic name that Swainson gave these birds in 1837, pro-
duces the strictly canonical miracle of Leptotila fulviventris hracliyptera (Salvad.), A. 0. U.
List, 2d cd. 1895, No 318.
ZENAIDU'RA. (Zenaida, nom. propr., and ovpd, onra, tail.) Pin-tail Doves. Tail long,
about equalling wings, cuneate, of 14 narrow, tapering, obtuse-ended feathers (unique among
North American Columhidcc). Wings pointed; 2d primary rather longest, 1st and 3d about
equal and scarcely shorter. Tarsus naked, scutellate in front, in length intermediate between
middle and lateral toes ; latter of unequal lengths, outer shortest. Bill much shorter than head,
slender and weak, the feathers running out far between the rami. A bare circumorbital space.
Velvety black spots on head and wings. Lining of wings not rufous. Sexes unlike. There
is a curious mimicry oi Edopistes in form and even in color ; but the technical characters are
widely different.
Z. macrura. (Gr. fiaKpov, makros, long, and ovpd, oura, tail. Fig. 484.) Carolina Dove.
Mourning Dove. Turtle Dove. Wild Dove. Adult ^: Upper parts, including middle
tail-feathers, grayish-blue shaded with brown-
ish-olive; head and neck ochrey-brown overlaid
with glaucous blue ; sides of neck glittering
with golden and ruby iridescence ; a violet-
black spot under ear-coverts. Under parts
glaucous - purplish, changing gradually to
ochraceous on belly and crissum, to bluish on
sides and under wings, to whitish on chin ;
the purplish tint spreading up on sides and
front of head to blend with the glaucous-blue.
Fig. 484. -Carolina Dove, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) gj.^^j^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^,f ^j^^ SCapulars and
wing-coverts, most of which are c(dored to correspond with back, the larger ones being rather
bluish-plumbeous. Lateral tail-feathers plumbeous-bluish, crossed with a black bar, the outer
4 on each side broadly ended with white. Bill black ; angle of mouth carmine ; iris brown ;
bare skin around eye livid bluish ; feet lake-red, drying dull yellowish. Length about 12.50;
extent about 18.00; wing 5.75; tail the same, the feathers graduated for ^ its length ; cuhnen
0.60; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 1 .00. Adult 9= A little smaller, not purplLsh below,
the rich color replaced by grayish-brown, like back but paler; head and neck with little glau-
cous blue shade, and less iridescent. Young: Like 9; l»ut at an early age the velvety-black
spots and iridescence are wanting, and the general tone is quite gray ; many feathers with
whitish edging, as in the Wild Pigeon, with which not only the colors but the sexual and
juvenile differences are thus closely correspondent. Temperate N. Am., N. to southern British
provinces, most widely diffused of its tribe, abundant in most localities, in st)me swarming —
" millions" in Arizona, for example. S. to the West Indies and Panama. Irregularly migra-
tory, imperfectly gregarious; great numbers may be together, but scarcely in compact Hocks;
breeds throughout its North American range. Terrestrial rather than arboreal, almost always
feeding on the ground ; where very numerous, they become familiar, like Blackbirds in the
columbidjE — zenaidinxE: ground doves. 715
West. Nest in trees (usually low tlown), cactus or bushes, or on ihe ground or a cliff. Eggs
2, or only 1, white, equal-ended, averaging 1.12 X 0.82; 2 or even 3 broods in the South.
During the mating season, where these birds are numerous, their cooing resounds on every
hand. (Z. carolinensis of former editions of the Key, as of most authors, after Columba caro-
linensi!^ Lixx. 17G(), based on Catesbv, pi. 24, 1754; C. mun/inata Lkw. 17(J(i, based on
Edwards, pi. lo, 1750; C. macroura Lixx. 1758, in so far as based on Edwards.)
ZENAI'DA. (A proper name, that of Zeuaide, cousin and wife of Prince C. L. Bonaparte.)
Love Doves. Tail rounded, shorter than wings, of 12 feathers. "Wings long, pointed by 2d
and 3d quills; 1st little shorter. Bill short, slender, black. Feet as in other ZenaiVZin^ ; tarsus
intermediate in length between middle and lateral toes ; those of unequal length, inner a little
the longer. Circumorbital space little bare. Metallic iridescence on neck ; blue-black ear-
spot, and others on wings. Sexes similar. (West Indian and Tropical American.)
Z. zeiiai'da. Zenaida Dove. Adult $ ? : Olive-gray with a reddish tinge ; crown and
nnder parts vinaceous-red ; sides and a.xillars bluish ; a velvety-black subauricular spot, and
others on wing-coverts and tcrtiaries ; secondaries tii)pc(l with white; neck with purplish
metallic lustre; middle tail-feathers like back, others bluisli with whiter tips, a black band
intervening ; bill black with crimson corners of mouth ; iris brown ; feet red ; claws black.
Length 10.00- II. 00; wing 6.00; tail 4.00. West Indies, Yucatan, and Florida Keys, the
latter irregularly, and only as a rare summer visitor, but breeding. Nest usually on the
ground; eggs 2. white, 1.25 X 0.95. (Z. amabilis of former editions of the Key, as of most
authors; Columba zenaida Bp. 1825. According to Sharpe, II. L. 1808, p. 7G, this is C.
meridionalis Lath. 1801, wrongly ascribed to " New Holland."' Cf. Salvad. Br. Mus. Cat.
x.\-i, 180.3, ].. ()4I ; Forbes & Robins., Bull. Liverp. Mus. i, p. 3G.)
3IKLOPKLI'A. ((jlr. ^eXos, melos, melody; rriXfia, i^eleia, a dove.) Wiiite-wixged Doves.
Tail rounded, shorter tlian wing, of 12 broad, rounded feathers. Wings pointed ; 1st, 2d, and
3d primaries nearly e(jual and longest. Bill slender and lengthened, equalling tarsus, black.
A large bare circumorbital space. A blue-black spot below auriculars, but none on wings ;
neck with metallic lustre. A great white space on wing. Feet as in other Zenaiditue. Sexes
similar.
31. leucop'tera. (Gr. \evK6s, leiicos, white; irrepov, pteron, wing.) White- wiXGED Dove.
SiXGiX(r Dove. Adult ^: Wing with a broad white bar oblique from carpal joint to ends of
longest coverts, continued by white edging at and near ends of outer webs of secondaries ; very
conspicuou-s recognizable at gun-shot range. Lower back and rump, some of the middle cov-
erts, lining of wings, and entire under parts from breast, fine lii^ht bluish-ash. Primaries
blackish with narrow white edging. Tail, excepting two middle feathers, slaty-blue, becoming
gradually slaty-black, then broadly and squarely tipped with ashy-white. General color of
back, lesser wing-coverts, inner quills, and middle tail-feathers, olive-bn)wn with some lustre;
tail-feathers browner ; top of head and back of neck purplish-vinous with a slight glaucous
sliade ; sides of neck iridescent with golden-green ; a vi(det or steel-blue spot below auriculars.
r.ill black, very slender. Length U.25-12.25; extent 10.00-20.00; wing (;.(MMi..-)0 ; tail
4.()0-4..')0 ; bill 0.87; tarsus 0.87; middle toe and claw 1.25. 9 scarcely distinguishalile,
tlmugli duller. In tiic youngest, the white wing-bar appears, though there is little or no pur-
plish, or iridescence, or blue-black below ears. Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
Lower C'alifurnia, and southward to Central America, and the West Indies; sometimes X. to
(''>lnrado (CouEs), breeding anywhere along our stiutliern border, and abundant in suitabli*
luciilities. In the breeding .season, March-June, the sonorous coning of this PtilmiKi cuntadnr,
as the Mexicans call it, is incessant. Nest in bushes and low trees, slight ant! frail, uf sticks
Mild weeds ; eggs 2, rarely 1, white or creamy, averaging 1.18 X 0.88, or a trille more.
<'<)l.l>II{KiALH'NA. ( L.it. cohtinha, a dove, ])igeon, and galliun, a hen : tfallits, n cock.)
DwAKi' Doves. Verv siiiaii. Wings short and broad, with elonuali'd inner secondaries,
iu>!uly ovciTcavliiug piiiujirit-s in the t'oUU'tl wiiii;-. Tail still shurttT tli.iu wing, uoarly even,
o( rj broad tcatlu'is. Uill sliMulcr. ahoiil half as long as lu>ail, mostly yellow. FiH't largely
/enaidino ; tarsus as long as luidillc loc wiiliout elaw. No iridcsoMK-c nor bluc-lilaek spot on
head ; sneh spots on wings. Sexes nidiUe, I'ul A roitles <iinho. {^('lt(ti)htpt'litt ot" nmst writers,
and in all pr«>vions i-ditions of ihe ivey ; l>nl iiuforiiiualely the niiseralde word ('oliinihiijallina
Hoik. Isis, 1S',*(). y. V77 . is foreed npon us by tlie law of priority, in spite .if tlie faet that the
original " I'oluinbigalline " of the nuMidaeious Le \'aillaut was a fictitious Afriean bird,
made up of a tan\e pi>;-eon arlilieially fuied with earuneles, later type of tht> bogus ueinis IVr-
nilid : (;/'. SiNi>. T.Mit. IS?."?, p. 1»S. and (."oii'.s. Auk. IS!>7. p. •,'!.').)
C piisstM'l'na torrcs'trls. {^\ji\\. paaseriint, sparrow-like; from the pyguiy stature; l.at. /<v-
irstris, terrt>strial. of the ground; icrra, the earth, land. Fig. -ISo.) (.Jkoinu Dovi'.. Adult
(jf: (.»rayish-oliv(>. glosst>d with blue on hind liead and neeU. most feathers of fon>-parts with
darker ediii>s. those of breast with dusky I'entrt-s. Foreliead. sides of head and ueek, lesst>r
wiug-eoverts and under parts purplish-red of variable iniiMisity. pal(M- or grayish on belly and
crissuiu; vnider snrfaee of wings orange-brown or ehestnui. this eolor snlfiisiug quills to a great
oxtent; upper surface of wings sprinkled with lustrous steel-blu(> spots. Middle tail-feathers
like baek. others plumbeous, blaekeniug toward ends, with pal(>r tips. Feet yellow; bill y(>l-
low with dark tip. Pimiiuitive : length t;..')()-7.(K) ; extent 10.00-11.00; wing l{..")0, with inner
seeoudari<'s mvuly as long as primarit>s ; tail "J.?."), rounded: bill 0 1."): tarsus O.tw ; middle too
and elaw 0.7.">. 9 and young ditfer as those o{ thi> Wild Pigeon and Carolina l>ove do, tho
jnu'plish tints being re|)lae(Hl by gray or "ashes of roses," the very young bird having wliitish
skirtiuii' of the feathers. South .\tlantie and Ciulf States, breeding from S. Carolina to TiOU-
isiana. ehietly coastwise; N. accidentally to Washington, D. C., and Now York; also West
Indies and north(>rn South America : commo\i on its V . S. range. Xost on tho ground or
in bushes iiuiilf.-rently ; eg^s '-. white. 0.S7 ,\ 0 t)-"?. mostly laid March to ,)nne, in sonu' cases
through the summer and early autumn. {Cli(iiiii(iH-li(i ixinscrinn of all foruuM'ods. of the Key.)
V. p. pallosooiis. (Lat. pdllcuct'ns, bleaching.') Mi'.XUWN Gkouno Povk. Scarcely dilferent;
described as palor. Cajio St. Lucas, 1>.VHU>, 1S,")!> ; range since extended to iiududo tho M(>xi-
can border of tht> U. S. from Lower California to Texas, and S. coastwise in Mexico to Central
America. This form, which 1 have kept in all (>ditions of the Key, I87xJ-l)5. was ignored by
mo.st writers for many years, but has lately been recogniz»>d as l\iliii)ihi(jaUi)ia ]Hisst'ri)ia pal-
lmrn!i : A. 0. V. List.',M ed. ISD."), No. :V20 a : see Key, -1th o.l. ISDO. p. WA.
SC.\K1>.\KK1V1..\.. (Italian, signalizing tho scaly appearance of the feathers, duo to their
color.) Siii'.i.l, Dovi's. Tail of pin-uliar shape, double-rounded, median and lateral feathers
both shorter than intermediate ones; all narrow and tapering- : i'J in number. Wings as in
Coliti>ihi(iiiUiii(t. TmU very slender, rather long, black. Fet>t not typically zenaidine: tarsus
very short, slightly feathered above. Xo blue-black spots on head or wings; no iridesconco
on nock. Size very small. Sexes similar. Uemarkable genus, of 0 tropical American si>o-
oios, one reaching our border.
iS, ill ei». t^Inca or i/ucas, a IVruvian title.) Inca Dove. Sc.\lki> Dove. Adult ^ ^ :
Above, iiravisb-brown with the usual olive shade, anteriorly also with a slight " aslu^s of
roses" hue; below, pale ashydilac. changin<;- to i>chracei)us on belly and crissum — nearly all
tho plumage marked with black crescentic edges of the feathers, producing tho shelly or scaly
a[ipearance, which becomes indistinct on tho breast. Primaries and their coverts chestnut,
with blackish ends; lining of wings black and chestnut ; outer secondaries blackish with chest-
nut central areas, gradually din>inishing till tho inner secondaries assimilate with color of back.
Middle tail-featbors like back: ;? lateral ones basally plumbeous, then black, thou broadly
tipped with white — tho black rui\ning out into tho white as u sh.ift-line. Iris reddish : foot
pale pink. Young similar, but with little or uo ashy-rosy, and sprinkled with white on upper
parts. Lent;th ;ibont S.OO ; wiusi' o.7."> : tail more: bill 0. l."> : tarsus O.TiO ; middle toe and
COIJ'MI'.IhA-: ZENAlhlS/i:-. ClUXJNh DOVIIS.
717
cIjivv 0.H7. A v<iy pnMly liltl*' I)<.vr, vvilli ifi;tli<.!/;itiy wirigM U[»liolMf.<;rwl in M}i<-ll-fiK"irwl axlwH-
of-roncH velvet,; a eurioijH rriitii;it mm- '.f iIm- r;iiolwi,i ho-.i- in r.,Mii. f ! n,.t< rn.il.i :iiirl Mexifjo to
'i exaM, New Mexieo, Arizriiia, aii<l Lower ( '.iliti-i lii.i, in tlic L, S. rlii. lly aluhi; li.i l<(,r(ler,
whoro (;oiriiiiori in Horiie |tia(:eH, Imt irremilarly <li)*tril»iite<l, breeding May-SeptetuWr. Next
in hiiHfieH, fairly well built ; eg«« 2, wliite, O.fM) / 0.70 to O.H.'i / O.O.'i.
718
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSFS. — COLUMB^— PERISTER^.
GEOTRY'GON. (Gr. yea, gea, the earth; rpvyav, trugon, a cooer.) Lustre Doves. Tail
about as long as wings, little rounded, of 12 broad rounded feathers, with curved shafts.
Wings short, rounded ; 3d and 4th quills longest, 2d and 4th little shorter, 1st much shorter.
Feet strongly zenaidine ; tarsus not shorter than middle toe and clavA^ ; still, scutellate in front,
and hind toe more than half as long as the middle, jjerfectly insistent. Bill rather long and
stout; frontal feathers obtuse on culmen. Head and wings without blue-black spots; whole
upper parts highly lustrous. Medium size ; form stocky, somewhat quail-like, but tail long.
Sexes similar. Approaching Starnoenas, but at a distance. West Indian and Tropical
American.
G. chry'sia. (Gr. ;^pvcrioi', chrusion, a piece of gold.) Key West Dove. Bridled Dove.
Adult (^ 9 • Above, vinaceous-red with highly iridescent lustre of various tints, amethystine on
the back, but greenish on the nape; below, pale purplish fading to creamy; Avings and tail
mostly cinnamon; a white infra-ocular stripe, and below this a dark malar stripe, bill red;
feet pink; iris brown. Length 11.00;
wing about 6.00 ; tail about 5.00. Cuba,
Haiti, the Bahamas, and Key West,
Florida, where only once observed of late
(Sept. 15, 1889. See Scott, Auk, Jan.
1890, p. 90), though seeming to have
been common in Audubon's time. Nest-
ing as described, not peculiar ; eggs 2,
pale buff, 1.25 X 0.95, laid Feb.-July
(in Cuba). G. martinica of former edi-
tions of the Key, as of most authors ; A.
0. U. Check List, 1st ed. 1886, No. [322.] ;
but the bird which visits Cuba proves to
be the somewhat different G. clirysia Bp.
Consp. ii, 1854, p. 72 ; Salvad. Cat. B.
Brit. Mus. xxi, 1893, p. 571 ; A. 0. U.
Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 126,
No. [322.].
G. inouta'ua. (Lat. , inhabiting moun-
tains.) Buddy Dove. Mountain
Dove. Adult $ 9 '■ Closely resembling
G. clirysia (and G. martinica) ; less bril-
liantly amethystine, and of nearly or
quite uniform tint over all tlie upper ])arts, wliich may be called purplish-rufous ; under parts
similar, n(»t paling to creamy or white on the throat and vent, but to tawny buff; no white
infra-ocular bar, but two poorly defined dark stripes on each side of the throat and head. Young
dark brown with an olive cast above, and usually some rusty markings, more rufous and buffy
on the lower parts ; quills more extensively dusky than in the adults. Smaller than clirysia
and martinica: wing under 6.00; tail under 4.00. Eggs 1.10 X 0.85, rounded oval, pale
creamy or salmon buff. A long and well-kuown inhabitant of tropical and subtropical America,
including the West Indies, N. to E. Mexico and Cuba, taken at Key West, Florida, Dec. 8,
1888 : see Scott, Auk, April, 1889, p. 160, and July, 1889, p. 246. Columha montana,
Linn. 1758; Geotrygon Montana, Bp. Consp. Av. II, 1854, p. 72; COUES, Key, 4th ed.
1890, p. 904; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. [322. 1.].
Fig. 48G. — Blue-headed Quail D^
IJrehm.)
GALLIN.E: GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 719
Subfamily STARNCENADIN/E : Quail Doves.
See p. 709. Hallux not porft'ctly iusistout ; short, only about \ as long as middle toe and
claw. Feet large and stout ; tarsus longer than middle toe, entirely bare of feathers even on
the joint, completely covered with small hexagonal scales. With cueca, but without oil-gland
or ambiens muscle, the reverse of Zenaidince, of wliich it is a remarkable outlying form, grad-
ing toward gallinaceous birds in structure and habits ; like some Partridges, even to the special
head-markings. Including one isolated American genus and species, not referable to any
established Old World group.
STARXCE'XAS. {Starna, name of a genus of partridges ; Gr. olvds, rmas, a dove.) Quail
Doves. In addition to the foregoing: Bill short, stout; frontal feathers projected in a point
on culmen. Wings short, broad, vaulted and much rounded ; 1st primary reduced. Tail
short, broad, nearly even. Size medium ; whole form and appearance quail-like. West
Indian.
S. oyanoce'phala. (Gr. Kvauos, Jcxanos, blue; KfcfyaXrj, kephale, head. Fig. 486.) Blue-
headed Quail Dove. Crown ricli blue bounded by black ; a white stripe under eye, meeting
its fellow on chin ; throat black, bordered with white. General color olivaceous-chocolate
above, purplish-red below, lighter centrally. Length 11.00; wing 5.50 ; tail 4.50. Cuba;
Florida Keys, rare or casual, and not observed there of late years ; apparently also decreasing
in Cuba. Nest in bushes, April and May ; eggs 2, white or bufl'y, 1.40 X 1-05.
Order GALLING : Gallinaceous Birds ; Fowls.
Equivalent to the old order Rasores, exclusive of Pigeons — this name being derived from
the characteristic habit of scratching the ground in search of food ; connecting the lower ter-
restrial Pigeons with the higher members of the great Plover-Snipe group. On the one hand,
it .shades into the Columhce so perfectly that Huxley has projio-sed to call the two together the
" Gallo-colnmbine series ;" on the other hand, some of its genera show a strong plover-ward
tendency, and have even been placed in Limicolee. I have already (p. 70G) noted the inoscu-
lation of Gallina; with Columhce by means of the grouse-like Pigeons, Pierocletes ; it remains
to indicate the limits of Gallince in other directions, by referring to two remarkable groups, one
represented by Opisthocomus alone, the other consisting of Hemipods or Turnices. Both of
tliese have usually been wrongly referred to Gallina;.
1. The wonderful Hoatzin of Guiana, Ojnsthocomus cristatus, is one of the most isolated
and ])uzzling forms in ornithology, sometimes placed near MHSophcujida', but assigned by
maturer judgment to the neighborhood of the fowls, which it resembles in many respects, as an
independent order Opisthocomi, sole relict of an ancestral type. The sternum and shoulder-
girdle are anomalous ; the keel is cut away in front; tiie furcula anchylose with the coracoids
(very rare) and with the manubrium of the sternum (unique); the digestive system is scarcely
less singular; the clawed digits persi,st separate for some time; and other characters are re-
markable. On the vvhcde, this bird suggests the Jurassic Ardueopteri/x, and some have hinted
at a primary division of living Aves for its sole accommodation.
2. The Bush-quails or Button-quails of the Old World, Titrnieidcr, differ widely from
G(dlinfr, resembling Grouse-pigeons and Tinamous in some respects, and related to Plovers in
others. A singular cliaracter is a lack of the exten.sive vertebral anchyloses usual in birds, all
the vertebrae remaining distinct. Tlie palatal structure is curiously like that of Passeies
(a^githognathous). The crop is said to be wanting in some ; as is also the hind toe (except in
Prdloiiomus), and one carotid. Tiic nature is ptilopa^dic ami prajcocial ; eggs J3-5, spotted.
720 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLING — PERISTEROPODES.
There are some 20 species of the wide-ranging principal genus, Tiirnix, and the single Austra-
lian Pedionomus torquatus. The singular Ortyxelus meiffreni is ranged here by some authors,
by others referred to the Limicolce. Late studies of the group have resulted in the view that it
should represent a distinct order, Hemipodii or Turnices.
Elimination of these non-conformable elements renders the Gallince susceptible of much
better definition, as follows : —
Bill generally short, stout, convex, with obtuse vaulted tip, not constricted in continuity,
wholly hard and corneous except in the nasal fossa. Toinia of upper mandible overlapping
lower ; culmen high on forehead, the frontal feathers there forming a re-entrance, with more
or less salience on both sides. Nostrils scaled or feathered, in a short abrupt fossa. Legs
usually feathered to suffrago, often to toes, sometimes to claws. Hallux never absent, elevated
(except in Cracidce and Megapodidce), normally shorter tlian anterior toes. Tarsus generally
broadly scutellate, when \wi feathered. Front toes commonly webbed at base. Claws blunt,
little curved. Wings short, strong, vaulted. Kectrices commonly more than 12 (not moi'e in
Cracidce). Head and brain small in proportion to body, as in Pigeons. Plumage with after-
shafts. Wings quintocubital. Oil-gland tufted, nude, or absent. Carotids two (except in
Megapodidce). No intrinsic syringeal muscles as a rule. Sternum generally deeply doubly-
notched, external xiphoid process flaring out over the ribs, its end expanded ; furculum witli a
hypoeleidium. Palate schizognathous. Nasal bones holorhinal. True basipterygoid proc-
esses absent, but represented by sessile facets situated fiir forward on the basisphenoidal ros-
trum. Angle of mandible produced into a recurved process. Cervical vertebrae 16. Pectoral
muscles 3 ; the 2d extensive : fetnorocaudal variable ; accessory femorocaudal, semitendinosus,
accessory semitendinosus, ambiens and expansor of the secondaries present. Feet desmopelmous
in the usual way. Intestinal coeca extensive ; gizzard muscular ; crop large ; gall bladder
present. Nature prsecocial and ptilopsedic, typically polygamous ; eggs numerous. Chiefly
terrestrial.
The order thus defined is equivalent to Alectoromorphce of Huxley (1867), minus Ptero-
cletes and Hemipodii. The birds composing it fall into two series or suborders, according to
structure of feet and more essential characters.
Suborder PERISTEROPODES : Pigeon-toed Fowls.
(Suborder Penelopes, A. 0. U.)
Framed to accommodate Old World Megapodidce, or Mound-birds, and American Cracidce^
or Curassows.
The Mound-birds, Megapodidce, as the name implies, have large feet, with lirtle-curved
claws, and lengthened insistent hallux. They share this last feature with Cracidce (beyond) ;
and the osseous structure of these two families, except as regards pneumaticity, is strikingly
similar. Both show a modification of the sternum, tlie inner erne of the two notches being less
instead of more than lialf as deep as the sternum is long, as in typical Gallince. The oil-gland
is nude (tufted in Cracidce). The wing is aquintocubital (contrary to the rule in Gcdlincc).
Megapods do not incubate, but bury their eggs in the ground ; the young pass through the
downy stage in the egg, hatching with true feathers and able to fly almost immediately
(p. 2.32). They are confined to Australia, Oceania, and the East Indies ; Megapodius is the
principal genus, of 12 or more species ; others are Leipoa ocellata of Australia ; Tcdegcdlus
cuvieri and other Papuan species ; Catlieturus lathami of Australia ; the Papuan J^jji/podim
bruijni and ^. arfakianus ; with MegacejjJialon mcdeo, the mallee-bird of Celebes.
CRACIDjE — PENELOPIN.E: GUANS. 721
Family CRACID^: Curassows, Guans, etc.
This type is peculiar to America, where it may be considered to represent Megapodidce,
though differing so much in habit and general appearance. The affinities of the two have been
indicated, and some essential characters noted ; they are contrasted by Beddard in the char-
acters of the shorter hind toe, tufted dil-gland, two carotids, generally coiled trachea and
absence of biceps slip, in Cracidce. According to latest authorities on the family, it is divisible
into three subfamilies: Craeina;, Curassows and Hoccos, with 4 genera, Crax, Nothocrax,
Mitua, and Pauxis, whereof the first named has 10 species, the second one, the third three,
and the fourth one, or 15 altogether; Oreophasince, with a single genus and species, Oreophasis
derbianus, and the
Subfamily PENELOPIN/E : Cuans,
with 6 or 7 genera and many species, one of wliich reaches our border. None of the Penelo-
pime are helmeted, or have other hard outgrowths or curly feiithers on the head, but they are
mostly wattled, with more or less of the throat bare ; in all, the inner web of the 1st primary is
more or less emarginate. Extralimitul genera are Penelope, Penelopina, Pipile, Ahurria, and
Chanucpctes.
OU'TALIS. (Gr. opraXis, ortalis, a pullet.) GuANS. Head crested; its sides, and strips
on chin, naked, but no median wattle. Tarsi naked, scutellate before and behind, with small
scales between the scutellar rows. Hind toe insistent, about ^ the middle toe. Tail o-radu-
ated, ample, fan-shaped, longer than the much rounded wings, of 12 broad, obtuse feathers.
Wings short, concavo-conve.^, with abbreviated outer primaries ; .secondaries reaching about
to ends of longest primaries when the wing is folded. Bill slender for a gallinaceous bird,
without decided frontal antiae. Coloration greenisli. Sexes alike. In some points of size,
shape, and general aspect, there. is a curious superficial resemblance between this genus and
Geococci/x, though the two genera belong to different orders of birds.
O. ve'tula inacoal'li. (Lat. vetula, a little old woman. To Geo. A. McCall.) Tf..\.\.n
GuAN. CllACHALACA. Dark glossy olivaceous, paler and tinged with brownish-yellow be-
low, plumbeous on head ; tail lustrous green, tipped witli grayi,sli-white except on middle pair
(if feathers; bill and feet plumbeous; iris brown. Length 22.00-24.00 ; extent 24.00-28.00 ;
wing 7.50-9.00 ; tail 9.00-11.00 ; tarsus 2.00 or more ; middle toe and claw about the same.
9 similar. Downy young : Above, mixed brown, ashy and tawny, with a black central stripe
from l)ill to tail ; below white, ashy on jugulum. Mexico to Texas in the Lower Kio Grande
Valley, abounding in some localities. A notable bird, unlike anything else in this country.
Easily domesticated, said to be used as a game fowl. Very noisy in the breeding season,
April-June, reiterating the syllables cha-cha-lac in a loud hoarse tone. Nest in bushes, a
slight structuie ; eggs 3-4, rarely 5, with a thick, granular, and very hard shell, like a Guinea
Fowl's, obl(jng-oval, buff-colored or creamy-wliite, large for the bird, averaging 2.85 X l.(>5.
Suborder ALECTOROPODES : True Fowls.
{Suborder Piiasiani, A. 0. U.)
Tlie birds of this suborder are more or less perfectly terrestrial; legs of mean length, and
stout ; toes 4, 3 in front, generally ccmuccted by basal webbing but sometimes free, and one
behind, alw;iys short and elevated. Tibife rarely naked below; tarsi often featliered, as the
toes also sometimes are ; but ordinarily both these are naked, scutellate and reticulate, ami
often deveh)ping processes (spurs) of horny substance with a bony core, like liorns of cattle.
Bill as a rule short, stout, convex, obtu.se; never cered, nor extensively membranous; the base
(if culmcn jiarts prominent antiae, which frequently fill the na.sal foss«> ; when naked the nos-
tiils siiow a superincumbent .scale. The head is frequently naked, wholly or partly, and often
722 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
develops remarkable fleshy processes. Tlie quintociibital wings are short, stout, and concavo-
convex, conferring power of rapid, whirring, but unprotracted tlight. The tail varies ex-
tremely ; it is very small in some genera, enormously developed in others ; the rectrices vary
in number, but are commonly more than 12. The sternum sliows a peculiar conformation ;
the posterior notches seen in most birds are inordinately enlarged, so that the bone, viewed
vertically, seems in most of its extent to be simply a narrow central projection or keel, the
lophosteon, with two long processes on each side, the inner one of which is simply directed
backward, but the other is flaring and hammer-shaped. There are other distinctive osteologi-
cal characters, as already noted. The digestive system presents an ample special crop, a highly
muscular gizzard, and large coeca. The inferior larynx is always devoid of intrinsic muscles ;
the structure of the trachea varies with the genera, presenting some curious modifications.
Tliere are after-shafts, and a circlet around the oil-gland. Alectoropodes are praecocial and
ptiioptedic. A part of them are polygamous — a circumstance shown in its perfection by the
sultan of the dung-hill with his disciplined harem; and in all such, the sexes are conspicuously
dissimilar. The rest are monogamous, and the sexes of these are as a rule nearly or quite
alike. The eggs are very numerous, usually laid on the ground, in a rude nest, or none. The
suborder is cosmopolitan; but most of its groups have a special geographical distribution. Its
great economic importance is perceived in all forms of domestic poultry, and principal game-
birds of various countries ; and it is unsurpassed in beauty — some of these birds offer the most
gorgeous coloring of the class.
Genetically, Fowls are nearer than most birds to a generalized, old-fashioned type. They
have relations in the curiously ostrich-like Tinamous of South America {Tinamidcc or Cryp-
turi), the Hoatzin (Opisthoco)ims), and other antique relicts. Notice a (juarter-grown Turkey
with tliis idea in mind, and you will hardly fail to see that it looks like an Ostrich in
miniature.
Leading types of existing Alectoropod GallincE are : (1) tlie Quail or Partridge; (2) the
Grouse ; (3) the Domestic Cock ; (4) the Turkey ; (5) the Guinea Fowl ; respectively tlie
bases of the families (1) Perdicidce, (2) Tetraonidce^ (3) Phasianidcs, (4) Mcleagrididcie, (5)
NunndidfC. Quail or Partridges, and Grouse, are indigenous to both hemispheres; the
Pheasant family is confined to the Old World, but some species have been introduced and
naturalized in the United States ; Turkeys are peculiar to America. Guinea Fowl or Pintados
are an African and Madagascarian family, of which one species, Numida meleagris, is com-
monly seen in domestication. There are 6 species of this genus, in some of which the trachea
is convoluted in an appendage of the furculum ; the frontal bone develops a process to support
a fleshy process on the head, which is naked, wrinkled, and bristly ; the very short tail has 36
feathers, and is carried downward ; there are wattles, but no spurs. Gnttera is the genus of
crested Pintados, spurless, with 16 rectrices ; there are 4 species, as G. cristata. Phasidus
niger is the Black Guinea Fowl, with 14 rectrices, the ^ with blunt spurs. Agelastes melea-
grides has also spurs and 14 rectrices. In the remarkable Acryllium vulturinus the tarsi of
the ^ bear several knobs, the long cuneate tail has 16 rectrices, and the feathers of the neck
resemble the hackles of the Domestic Cock. The Pintado family is chai'acterized by a pecul-
iarity of the principal metacarpal bone, which has no backward process, and by the outward
Inclination of the costal processes ; it is thought by some to furnish a link between Peristero-
podes and Alectoropodes. The oiher four families are fully treated beyond.
Family PHASIANID^: Pheasants, etc.
The most magnificent fiimily of typical Gallintc, of wliich the Domestic Cock is a charac-
teristic example. The tarsi and toes, the nasal fossae, and usually some of the head, if not the
whole, are naked, and often furnished with fleshy outgrowths, as combs, wattles, horns, ear-
PIIA SI A N1D.E — PIIA SI A NINjE : PIIEA SA NTS. 7 23
lappets, dewlaps, etc. ; some of these caruncular formations are of fixed size and shape; others
are of a soft erectile tissue, which varies in dimensions with sexual excitement; in some cases
there is a special bony support of such protuberance. The head is often crested with feathers
of ordinary character, or again of special shape or texture. The tarsi commonly develop spurs,
especially in the $, sometimes also in the 9; these spurs are as a rule one on each foot, but
may be two, three, or more. The feet are never feathered below the suflfraco, ex('ei)tiiig in
some artificial varieties of the Domestic Cock. The claws are always fairly developed (that
of the hallux is sometimes rudimentary or defective in Perdicidcc), and the most characteri.stic
lial)it of these birds, as of other Gallincc, is to scratch the ground for food ; they are thus
rasorial. The general plumage, though so often extremely brilliant, is rather dry and hard ;
the birds do not wasli in water, but take sand-baths; whence Pulveratores as a name of th(.-ir
order. The wings are of moderately variable sliape, only presenting an extraordinary figure
in tlic Argus Pheasants, whicli have the secondaries enormously elongated. Excepting in the
genus Phaminns itself, the 1st primary is short — shorter than the 10th ; and this seemingly
trivial character is pi'obably the most satisfactory one that can be found to separate the Fhasi-
armhe as a family from the Perdictdce (see beyond under bead of the latter family). The most
variable member in Phasianidce is the tail, which, taken either with or without its cctverts,
lias an extraordinary development in many of the genera. Thus, in the Peaccjck, Paro cris-
tatiis, the tail-coverts firm a superb train, capable of being erected and spread into a disc, the
most gorgeous object in ornithology ; in the Argus Pheasants the middle rectrices are ex-
tremely elongate; in the Reeves' Pheasant the length of the tail is very great. The com-
pressed or folded tail of domestic poultry is familiar, yet it is a rare formation, except in the
present family. The number of rectrices is more variable than in any other family of birds,
and even difiers in ojtposite sexes of some species. These feathers run from 12 to 20 in most
genera, but there are only 10 in Ophnjsia (if really belonging here), while in Lobiophasift there
are 28 9~'^~ S- ^" general the P/uisianid(e are polygamous ; the outward marks of sex are
strong, as a rule, the female lacking any extraordinary development of plumage, the spurs,
etc. ; but in some cases the sexes are (piite similar.
Phusiunidce belong exclusively to the Old World, and are specially numerous and diversi-
fied in Asia; the number of si)ecies now known is nearly lOU, usually referred to about 45
genera.
Subfamily PHASIANIN/E: Pheasants,
including the Pea-fowl, the Domestic Cock, and all tlie birds to which the name Pheasant is
pro]ierly applicable. It is only of late years that the richness ot this group has been devel-
()ped by the discovery of strange types in the interior tif Asia and elsewhere. The subfamily
has not hitherto figured in the Key; but more than one species of Phnsiauuft has of late been
introduced and naturalized in the United States; and in giving tliis genus :i place I may note
some of the leading types of the subfamily. At the head of the series, at least io size and
sliowiness, stands the Peacock, Pavo cristutus, native of India, now domesticated all over the
worhl. The true rectrices are only 20, the coverts forming the voluminous train of the ^.
P. mnticKs is the only other well-established species of I'avu. Argnsifniits is the genus of
Argus Pheasants of two or three .species from the Malay countries, etc., with the inordinately
long secondaries and middle tail-feathers of the (J, and much of the plumage eyed. Jihein-
hdrdtius occUatus of Toukiu s!i;ires the Innir tail of the last named, but not the exat:i:erated
.secondaries; in both, the rcctiiccs arc 12. The several species of I'oh/jilectnm, vviih-Iy dis-
tributed in the Orient, have two <ir three sjiurs ou each foot hi the <J, and ocellat'-d tail-feathers,
20-24 in number; P. cliinqnis und P. hiailmrntum are examples. The genus (VuilcKnis, of one
Sumatran species, is related to these, but lacks ocelli, Jind the tail is very lontr, as in ordinary
IMieasants. The genus <i,iUii< in.lnd.s the .lungh'-fowl, tVom wliich tlic familiar ctn-k and
724
5 YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — GA LL IN.E — ALEC TOR OP ODES.
hen of the poultry yard have been developed in all their astonishing variation under artificial
conditions. Were these normal, they would constitute several good genera. The teclmical
generic characters are the peculiarly folded tail of 14-16 feathers, the hackles of the neck and
rump, the spurs, wattles, and comb. The established wild species are 4 : G. gallus, hankiva,
or ferrugineus, G. lafai/etiei, G. sonnerati, and G. varius ; they are wide ranging in Asia and
many of its islands, and the first named is supposed to be the main origin of
our poultry. The Macartneys are several species of the genus Lophura, with
the 16-feathered tail compressed as in Gallus, a peculiar crest, and spurs ;
the plumage is extremely brilliant, as in the fire-backed Pheasant, L. ignita.
This is the genus oftener called Euplocomus ; one of its species, L. diardi, is
till- t_\{ic (if Diardigallus. The Painted or Golden and Amherstian Pheas-
ants, Chrysolophus pictus and C amherstite, are singularly beau-
tiful birds, even among their showy kind, having a long vaulted
tail of 18 feathers, and in the ^ a full crest, a peculiar
erectile cape or frill on the neck, and a pair of spurs ;
they are often seen in confinement, far from their Tibe-
tan and Chinese homes. The Pucras are six or more
Asiatic species of the genus Pucrasia, as P. macrolopha
with long cuueate tail of 10 feathers, and in
the $ a long crest, besides peculiar ear-tufts,
and a pair of spurs. Pucrasia nipalensis is
the type of a genus Gallophasis, and one of
several species which share with some of the
members of Gennceus the name of Ka-
leege or Kalij Pheasant. The genus
■ Genntsus, usually called Nyctliemerus,
includes the Silver Pheasant G. nyctlie-
merus, mostly white above and black be-
low, with a pair of spurs, a crest,
and long compressed tail of 16
feathers ; others are the white-
crested G. albocristatus ; the Ne-
paul Pheasant, G. leucomelanns ;
Sylhet Pheasant, G. horsfieldi ;
Pheasant related to these, if not
The Cheer or Wallich's Pheasant
related to Phasianus proper. In
is peculiarly long and loose, with
and full rounded tail of 20-24
5, C. tibetanum, C. leiicurum, C.
habit high mountains, and are
of all Pheasants is the lately dis-
FiG. 487. — English Pheasant, PhasUtmis colchicus.
(From Dixon.)
the Chittygong Pheasant, G- muthura ; tlie
the Lineated, G. lineatus, etc A Formosan
of the same genus, is Hieroj^hasis swinhoei.
is Catreus wullichi, of the Himalayas, closely
the genus Crossoptilon of interior Asia the plumage
curly feathers on the head, ear-tufts, a pair of spurs,
feathers ; of these Eared Pheasants the species are
mantchuricum, C. auritum, and C. harmani ; all in-
called Snow Pheasants. One of the most remarkable
covered Lobiophasis bidweri of Borneo, the ^ of which has three pairs of fleshy lappets on the
head, a pair of spurs, and 32 rectrices — 28 in the 9 • I" the three species of Acomus, the short
compressed tail has 14 rectrices, and there are spurs in both sexes; A. erythrophtludimis is IMa-
layan, A. jiyronotus inhabits Borneo, and A. inornatus is Sumatran. The refulgent Impeyans
or Monauls constitute the genus Loj)liophorus, with a moderate rounded tail of 18 feathers,
and a slender aigrette on the head, like a Peacock's ; such are L. impeyanus of Cashmere,
L. refulgens of the Himalayas from Bhotan to Afghanistan, L. Vhuysi of Szechuen and Koko-
uor, and finally L. (Chalcophasis) sclateri of Assam. In tlie curious Satyrs, constituting the
PHASIANIDyE — PHASTANIX.E: PHEASANTS. 725
genus Tragopan, the ^ has a pair of fleshy horns and a large dewlap ; the tail is 18-feathered.
These horned l*iieasants inhabit India, China, etc. ; there are 5 species, T. satyra, T. melano-
cephalus, T. temmincJci, T. blytJd, and 'T. caboti. In tlie Sanguine or Blood Pheasant, Itha-
genes cnientus, the plumage is varied with crimson, black, white, green, etc.; the tail is 14-
feathered, and the ^ has two or three pairs of spurs. This species inhabits Nepaul, Sikkim,
Bhotan, and Thibet; the others of the genus are I. geoffroyi and I. sinensis. This rapid
glance at Plmsianince omits a few forms on the boundary of the subfamily, where it inosculates
with tlie Partridges, and is exclusive of the largest central genus, as follows: —
PHASIA'NUS. (Gr. (Paaiavos. 2)h(tsia>ios, hai. jihasianus, a pheasant, i.e. the Phasian bird,
so called from the Phasis, a river in Colchis now called the Rioui.) PHEASANTS. Tail long
or very long, cuneate, of J 8, seldom 16, feathers, of whicli the middle pair are long-cxserted ;
tail as a whole straight or a little drooping, but not completely folded. Wings moderate, with
1st primary excepticnially long in this subfamily, about equalling the 8th. Sides of head more
or less naked about the eyes, and with a tuft over each ear, but no crest on the crown. ^
single-spurred. 9 smaller than ^, and much less elegantly attired. The largest genus of
Plmsianince, of about iJO species, ranging in a state of nature from southeastern Europe across
Asia and in Formosa. There are several subgenera or sections. In P. ellioti, type of Calophasis,
tiie rectrices are only 10. This species, in which the plumage is in part black and white, in-
liabits some portions of China. The related P. humifC, also with 16 tail-feathers, is found in
Burmah. The other species all have 18 rectrices. The tail attains its maximum length in
P. recvesi of China, type of the genus Sgrmaticus ; in this the total length of the ^ may reach
6^ feet, of which the tail may be about 5 feet ; and the plumage is extremely beautiful.
Scemniering's Pheasant (see below) is type of Graphophasianiis. The remaining species
form a compact grotip, fairly well represented by the following species iutroiluced and to some
extent naturalized in our country :
Analysis of Species ((f).
A pair of occipital plumicorns. Neck burnished blue. {Subge/ius Phasianus.)
Breast coppery chestnut, with black scallops. No white collar colchicus
A white collar torquntus
Breast rich dark green versicolor
No occipital plinnicorns. (Subgenus Graphophasianus.)
Neck coppery chestnut scrmmeringi
P. col'chicus. (Lat. of Colcliis. Fig. 487.) Common Pheasant. English Piikasant.
Adult J : Head and neck burnished blue with green, bronze, or purplish reflections ; no white
collar. Back orange-brown, witli dark greenish scallops and otlier variegation ; rump and upper
tail-coverts rufous, with black and reddish variegation. Breast coppery-chestnut, with pur-
plisli edgings of tlie feathers, and some greenish gloss. Tail olive-brown, edged with purplish-
rufous, and cros.sed with remote black bars of increasing width fn>ni ba.se to tip. Bare skin of
head scarlet. Length very variable, according to development of the tail, but up to 3 feet :
tail 21.00 or less ; wing 10.00. Adult 9 much smaller and less richly colored ; length about
2 feet ; tail a foot ; wing 8.50. Native of Asia Minor, N. to the Volga, E. in southern Turkey
to Greece; introduced into Britain prior to A.u. 10.56, and long perfectly naturalized there, as
in various (tther European countries; the principal game of English preserves: lately intro-
duced in the Eastern U. S., but whether naturalized remains to be seen.
I', torqua'tus. (Lat. having a torques, or collar ; collan'd.) King Piikasant. .Vdult ^ :
Closely resembling the last; a white ring around the neck. Cliin.i, and other Asiatic countries;
lately introduced in Oregon, and perhaps naturalized.
IV versicolor. (Lat. veisicolorus, many-hiicd or of changeable coloration.) (Jukkn I'iikasant.
Jai'AN Piikasant. Adult ,$ '■ ^I'"^'^ of the under parts rich dark green; back the sumo,
glossed with pnrpli.sh and varied with bulT; top of head bronzy green as in the foregoing;
726
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN^E — ALECTOROPODES.
rump and upper tail coverts plain greenish slate-color ; tail with hroad black bars throughout.
Length about 2-^ feet; tail 1^; wing 9.50 inches. 9 smaller; length 2 feet or less; tail
under 1 foot ; wing
8 00 inches ; feathers
of back with black
centres and usually
buff shaft - stripes ;
those of under parts
mostly black -barred.
Japan; lately intro-
duced and apparently
naturalized in Ore-
gon.
P. scemmer'ingi.
(To the noted Ger-
man anatomist and
physiologist, Samuel
Thomas von SiJm-
m e r i n g, Jan. 18,
I755-March2,1830.)
CoppKR Pheasant.
SoMMERiNG Pheas-
ant. Adult $ :
Above, including
^ head and neck, chest-
nut, shot with pur-
ple and gold ; rump
btreaked with white ;
tail chestnut, tipped
with black, the mid-
dle feathers barred
throughout with
darker chestnut,
black, and light mot-
tling, the three kinds
of marking in regu-
lar series ; the chest-
nut feathers of under parts with pale margins ; primaries and secondaries blackish, mottled
and margined irregularly with rufous. Length 3 oi: 4 feet ; tail 2^-3 feet ; wing 9.00 inches.
Adult 9 : Much smaller ; length about 1^ feet ; wing and tail about 8.50 inches ; coloration
lighter and more varied than in the $ ; most of the tail-feathers plain chestnut with subter-
minal black bar and white tip. A large handsome Pheasant, the $ very long-tailed and
short- winged ; native of some of the Japanese islands, lately introduced and apparently natural-
ized in Oregon.
Fig. 488. —Turkey. (From Lewis.)
Family MELEAGRIDID^ : Turkeys.
Head and upper neck naked, carunculate ; in our species with a dewlap on the tliroat, and
erectile process on the crown. Tarsi naked, scutellate before and behind, spurred in the $.
Tail broad, rounded, of 14-18 feathers. Plumage compact, lustrous ; in our species with a
ME LEA GRIDIDuE : TURKS VS.
727
^^s^
tuft of hair-like feathers hanging on the breast ; most of the feathers remarkably broad or
even truncate. One genus, two species, peouliar to America. M. ocellatus is the very beau-
tiful Turkey of Central America, especially Yucatan and Honduras, smaller than ours, but
much more richly iridescent and eyed on some of the plumage like a Peacock ; there is no
bristly beard on the breast ; the excrescences on the head are peculiar; the spurs of the ^ are
long and sharp, like gaffs. Its characters entitle it to recognitiou as a subgenus at least, if
not a full genus, which may be named Emneleagris.
MELEA'GRIS. (Gr. fxtXtaypls, Lat. meleagris, a Guinea-fowl; transferred in ornithol-
ogy to this genus.) Turkeys. Characters of the family. Se.ves similar in plumage,
but 9 less lustrous, smaller, and spurless. Nest on ground ; eggs indefinitely numerous,
colored.
M. gallopa'vo. (Lat. galliis, a cock, pavo, a pea-fowl. Figs. 488, 489.) The Turkey.
Domestic Turkey. Mexican Turkey. Upper tail-coverts chestnut, with very pale or
whitish tips ; tail-feath-
ers tipped with brown-
ish-yellow or whitisl) ;
3-4 feet long, etc.
Weight of ^ up to .30
Ih.s. or more, tlniugli
averaging much less ;
9 about 12 lbs. Wild
in western Texas, Col-
orado, New Mexico, Ari-
zona, and southward ;
domesticated elsewhere.
Tiie Mexican bird is the
original of the domestic
race; it was upon this
form, imported into Eu-
rope, that Linnfcus im-
posed the name yulln-
2}avo (Fn. Suec. 174i'>,
p. J98; Syst. Nat. i,
1758, J). 1.56; 17G6, j).
2ti8), which has gener-
ally been applied to the
ordinary feral form. It
is hard, therefore, tn
understand why orui-
tliologists so long per-
sisted in perpetuating
ji 1] f (••lllin<r Eiu. I^'.i. — .Mrxiriin liirkcy. (Fniiii " (iiiiiii' Bir.ls of Nortli America," by D. G. Elliot.)
tills bird .1/. yfdlopaco me.ricana. Granted th;it the Linna>an species was a composite, iu-
cluiliiii: all the kinds of Turkeys the Swede ever saw or heard of, the case was not altered
tiL(r(I)y. For whou the alleged composite came to be divided into its several forms, the
cuiiMiKiu wild bin! of eastern North America wns the first to receive a distinctive name,
thus restricting the Linna'an r/ftUopuro to the Southwestern and Mexican form renamed
nic.ricana by Gould, I*. Z. S. 18r)(), p. (Jl. I repeatedly set forth the facts in this case, the
two forms having stood correctly identified and named in the Key since 1872. Mcvicnna
GouEii is a ])ure synonym <if guUopavo LiN'N.. as restricted by Bartram, Vieillot, and others.
l^^
u ^«-"**' -~
728
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
and as such has no standing in ornithology. Meleagris gallopavo mexicana A. 0. U. Lists,
1886-95, No. 310 a, has therefore been changed to Meleagris gallopavo A. 0. U. Suppl.
List, Jan. 1899, No. 310. See for example Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii, 1893,
pp. 387-390, where the synonymy is given for all the forms of the genus; and especially
CouES, The Turkey Question, Auk, July, 1897, pp. 272-275.
M. g. interme'dia. (Lat. intermediate: inter, between, and meclius, middle. Fig. 490.)
Texan Wild Turkey. Rio Grande Turkey. Intermediate between the foregoing and
the following form; ends
(jf the upper tail-coverts
liuff or somewhat rufous.
Eastern Texas and south-
ward. 31. gallopavo and
M. mexicana of authors
referring to the Turkey
of tlie Lower Ilio Grande
valley. M. gallopavo
var. intermedia , Senn.
Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv.
V, No. 3, 1879, p. 428 ;
name later changed by
Mr. Sennett to M. g. elli-
oti, Auk, April, 1892,
p. 1G7, pi. 3; A. 0. U.
List, 2d ed. 1895, No.
310 c. Clianged back to
intermedia, Auk, Jan.
1899, p. 108, No. 310 c.
M. g. fe'ra. (Lat. fera,
wild. Fig. 491.) Com-
mon Wild Turkey op
Eastern North Amer-
ica. Upper tail-coverts
without light tips, and
ends of the tail-feathers
scarcely paler. This is
the ordinary wild bird,
having the ends of the
feathers in mention rich
chestnut or maroon brown; furthermore, the fleshy frontal finger and the dewlap never show
the enormous development they usually acquire in the domestic gallopavo proper. Eastern
U. S. from some of the Middle States, and also from southern Ontario, S. to the Gulf coast,
W. to the edge of the Great Plains, in the wooded extensions up streams, S. W. to some
parts of Texas; formerly N. E. to Maine, but long since extirpated from all New England;
formerly N. W. in the Missouri region to North Dakota ; lately extirpated from that state,
South Dakota and Nebraska, and become rave in Kansas and Missouri; still abundant in
the Indian Territory and some parts of Texas, in different areas of which great State the
present and both the preceding occur. The present nortliern limits of distribution include
some portions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, probably southern Ontario, Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This Turkey inhabits woodland, and is resident wher-
ever found; breeds Feb.-June, mostly in April ami May. Eggs 10-14 or more, ordinarily a
Fig. 490. — Elliot's Rio Grande Tiirliey. (From "Game Birds of North America,"
by D. G. Elliot.)
ME LEA GRIDID.E : TURKE YS.
729
devil's or a baker's dozen (11-13), creamy or buff, pretty regularly and uniformly spotted or
speckled in tine pattern with chocolate and reddisli-browu, rarely neutral tints; size averaging
2.45 X 1-S5. M. gallopavo, wholly or in part, of authors; A. O. U. Lists, 1886-95, No. 310.
M. americana Bartr. Trav. 1791, p. 290; M. g. americana CouES, Key, all editions.
M. g. occidentalis Allen, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, i, 1876, p. 55. 31. palawa Barton, Med.
and Phys. Journ. ii, 1805, p. 163. M. fera Vieill. Nouv. Diet, ix, 1817, p. 447 and Gal.
ii, 1825, p. 10 ; Gallopuro sylvestris Le Conte, Pr. Phila. Acad. 18.57, p. 179, thus reverting
to Brisson, Orn. i, 1760, p. 162, and Catesby, 1730; 31. sylvestris Elliot, Gall. Game
Birds, 1897, p. 176. I make no point of insistence ujjon the availability of either of the Bar-
tramian names, americana and occidentdlis, thougli Allen has used the latter; but some
Fig. 491. — WiM Turk
f North America," by D. G. Elliot )
name must Ix- applied to tills bird. Failing both the Bartramian ones for any reason, the
next in order of date \^ jmlawa Barton: failing which for any reason, the next is/<va Vieill.
H17, adopted by the A. 0. U. at my instance, see Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 77 and p. 107; No. 3IOrt.
of theSu])pl. List, exchanging numbers with the stock form.
M. g. osct'o'la. (Name of tlie famous Seminole Indian chief, b. in Georgia, 1^04, d. prisoner
at Fort .Mniihrie, S. C. .Tan. :]0, 1838. Fig. 492.) Fi,nKii>.\ Wii.i. Tiukey. Like the
last: tips of ui)])er tail-cov(>rts somewhat i)aler, as in intermedia, but dark bars on the prima-
ries in excess of widtii over tlie light ones. Southern Florida. 31. occidentalis Hartu. Trav.
I7!ll. ]). 83 (Florida). .1/. g. osceola Scott, Auk, I8!t0. p. .'{7t;. A. (). V. NO. :i\{) l>.
Oits. — Before proceeding to the families 'letraoniiltr and l'erdicid(C, it may be well to re-
mark that the vernacular names " piiea.sant," " partridge," and ** (]uail,'' as applied to oiir pnmo
birds in ditferent sections of the cotmtry, are the cause of endlc-js confii.sion and misunderstand-
iiiL,', which it seems hop<)c<>i t.. :iit<iii|it ti> do ,i\v:iy uitli in t.iitiiilir ipi-r.li.tisiun. (1) Tlio
730
S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — GA LL IN.E — ALEC TOR OP ODES.
word " pheasant" (derived from the name of the river Phasis in Colchis) belongs to certain
Olii W i^vVX Fhasiamdce (see above; and fig. 487), havin:,' no indigenous representatives in
America. But early set-
tlers of this country ap-
[)lied it to the Ruffed
CJ rouse, JBonasa umbellus
— and " pheasant " is the
Ruffed Grouse called to
this day by the common
[icople of the Middle and
Southern States, after the
bad example set by Ed-
wards, who originally
named it "Pheasant from
Pennsylvania" iu 1754.
(2) "Partridge" is an
old English word, spe-
cifically designating the
English Perdix cinerea,
then enlarged in meaning
to cover all the family
I'erdicidce (see beyond j.
In the Northern States,
both the Spruce Grouse,
Canachites canadensis,
and the Ruffed Grouse,
are commonly called
"partridge." In the Mid-
dle and Southern States
— wherever the Ruffed
Grouse is called " pheas-
ant '■ — the Bob-white,
Colinus virginianus, is
called " partridge." (3) The term "quail" is specially applicable to the European Migratory
or Messina Quail, Coturnix dactylisonans or C. coturnix. But this resembles our Bob-white
not distantly, causing the latter to be called "quail" in the sections where the Ruffed and
Spruce Grouse are called " partridge; " and in the Southwest, the species of Callipepla, Lo-^
phortyx, Oreortyx, and Cyrtonyx are universally called "quail."
Fig. 492. —Florida Wild Turkey.
D. G. Elliot.)
(From " Game Birds of North America,'
Family TETRAONID^ : Grouse.
Head completely feathered, excepting, usually, a naked strip of skin over eye. Nasal
fossae densely feathered. Tarsi more or less perfectly feathered, the feathering sometimes ex-
tending on toes to claws ; toes, when naked, with horny fringe-like processes, or pectinations.
No spurs ever developed. Tail variable in shape, but never folded, nor very long, of 16-20,
rarely 22, feathers. Sides of neck frequently with lengthened or otherwise modified feathers,
or a bare distensible skin, or both. Plumage for the most part of subdued coloration, in which
the browns and grays prevail ; sometimes black or white, never brilliant, as in most Phasia-
nidce. Sexes similar or subsimilar ; monogamy the rule. Nest slight or none, on the ground.
TETRAONID^: GROUSE. 731
Eggs numerous, colored. The family thus characterized is the best defined division of the
GallincB. It has been customary to include the Partridges and Quails in a family Tetraonidce,
then separated into Tetraonince for the Grouse, and one or more subfamilies for the Partridges,
etc. Such was the arrangement in former editions of the Key, still kept up by the A. 0. U. But
the latest monographer of the Gallince, Ogilvie-Grant, has taught us better ; and I alter my
earlier scheme accordingly. There is no exception to the characters of Tetraonidce as here
drawn ; and only two or three equivocal genera of PerdicidcB connect the two families. (See
under PerdicidcB, beyond.)
The true Grouse are confined to the northern hemisphere, and reach their highest devel-
opment, as a family, in North America, where singularly varied forms occur. All species of
this family used to be referred to a single genus Tetrao — the only generic name familiar to
sportsmen and others who make no technical study of birds. But such must not be surprised
to find me discarding this well-known name, and adopting several different ones as generic des-
ignations of our Grouse, which differ much among themselves, in points of form and structure,
and are all widely diverse from such as " Tetrao" urogallus or Tetrao tetrix, both of Europe.
The latter is now made type of the Linusean genus Tetrao, upon the " principle of elimination "
in restricting the old names of 'heterogeueous genera, adopted by the A. 0. U. — a method of
procedure in which I fully concur. T. tetrix is the " black game " of Europe; the ^ has curi-
ously curled tail-feathers, 18 iu number, producing a lyre-shaped tail, whence the synonym
Lyriirus for this genus. There is a second species, T. mlokosieiviczi — the bird's tail may re-
semble a lyre, but there is no music in its name ! The genus Urogallus includes four species
of Capercaillies, of Europe and Asia — U. urogallus, U. uralensis, U. 2}'-if'i'irostris, and
U. kamtschaticus. These are tlie largest Grouse, some two feet long, heavy-bodied, with 18-
feathered tail. The sickle-winged species of Falcipennis represents our Canada Grouse in
Siberia, and like it has 16 tail-feathers. Similarly our Ruffed Grouse is represented in Europe
and Asia by three species of tlie genus Tetrastes, iu which the ruffle is rudimentary, tlie tail has
only 16 feathers, and the sexes differ more than they do iu Bonasa ; T. bonasia, T. griseiventris,
and T. severtsovi compo.se this genus. The ouly one common to both hemispheres is Lagopus ;
the species of which, together with those of the other genera named in this paragraph, and
those of Nortli America now to be treated, citmpose the family TetraonidcB.
Summary of North American Tetraonidce — Grouse, with feathers on the shank.
Sage Grouse: Sage Cock; Sage Hen; Cock-of-the-Plaius. Wcsieru. One species:
Centrocercus urophasianus.
Sharp-tailed Grouse: Pin-tail Grouse; Prairie Hen or Prairie Chicken of the North-
west. 1 s])ecies : Pediacetes i^hasianellus, with 2 subspecies.
Pinnated Grouse : common Prairie Hen or Prairie ChicUeu of the Mississippi, Ohio,
and Lower Missouri valleys. .'i species: T. cupido (Martha's Vineyard); T. ameri-
canus, witli a subspecies ; T. pallidicinctus.
Tree Grouse: Spruce Grouse; Spotted Grouse; in the Noriliern States species im-
properly called " partridge." Two species : C. caiuidensis, Eastern : C. franklini.
Western.
Dusky I'ree Grouse: oue species: Dendragapus obacurun, witli 2 subspecies, all
Western.
Ruffed Grouse: imiinipt'rly calk-il " paitiidge" in llit- Nnrtlirru and "})lu'asant" in tlio
Middle and Southern Stales. One species: Botuisa umbcUus, of 2 or ''^ subs|K'cies.
Snow Grouse or Ptarmigan : bnreal and alpine, turniui,' white in winter. Several spe-
cies or subspecies : as Lagopus ltigoj)us, L. rupcstns, L. Icucurus, etc.
732 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
Analysis of N. Am. Genera of Telraonidce.
Tail stiff, pointed, wedge-shaped, equalling or exceeding wing, of 20 feathers ; scaly and hair-like feathers on breast.
Tarsi fuU-featliered. Very large. Western Centrocercus
Tall stiff, pointed, wedge-shaped, much shorter than wing, of 18 feathers ; no obviously peculiar feathers on neck.
Tarsi full-feathered. Western and Northern Pedittcetes
Tail stiiBsh, rounded, much shorter than wing, of 18 feathers ; wing-like tufts and great bare inflatable space on neck.
Tarsi scant-teathered. Eastern and Western Tympanuchus
Tail soft, rounded, about as long as wing, of 18 feathers ; umbrella-like tufts on neck, but no obvious bare space.
Tarsi bare below. Eastern and Western Bonasa
Tail stifflsh, flat, square, shorter than wing, of IG feathers ; no evidently peculiar feathers or obviously bare space on
neck. Tarsi full-feathered. Eastern and Western Canachites
Tail as in Canachites, but of 20 feathers ; no evidently peculiar feathers on neck, but a bare inflatable space. Tarsi
full-feathered. Western Dendragapus
TaU, etc. as in Canachites. Tarsi and toes fully feathered. Boreal and alpine. White in winter . . . Lagopus
CANACHI'TES. (With formative sufli.^ -ites, denoting agent or doer, from Gr. Kavaxeoi or
Kavaxi^^oa, kanacheo or kanachiso, I make a noise ; Kavaxos, kanachos, or KavaxTj, kanadie, a noise.
Hence Kavd<T}, Kanake, Lat. Canace, a proper name of the daughter of ^olns, formerly used for
this genus.) Tree Grouse. Spotted Grouse. No obviously lengthened or otherwise pecul-
iar feathers on neck or head. No obviously naked space on neck; but there is a piece of skin
capable of some distension. A strip of bare colored skin over eye. No crest. Tarsi feathered
to toes. Tail little shorter than wing, stiffish, nearly square, of broad, obtuse feathers, nor-
mally 16 in number (exceptionally 14 or 18, as an individual peculiarity). Of medium size,
and dark blended colors, inhabiting woodland, like species of Bonasa, and quite arboreal ;
northerly and alpine, eastern and western. Sexes distinguishable. Eggs heavily colored.
Meat of breast dark. (Canace of former eds. of the Key, pret)ccupied in entomology. Cana-
chites Stej. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, Sept. 188.5, p. 410, as a subgenus of Dendragapus, and
so rated by the A. 0. U. 1886-95 ; but given proper rank in A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk,
Jan. 1899, p. 107, after Ogilvie- Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii, 1893, p. 69, and Elliot, Gall.
Game Bds. 1897, p. 202. The characters, especially the number of tail-feathers and the unde-
veloped neck-drums, are of the kind usually held to mark genera in this family.)
Analysis of Species.
Tail with broad orange-brown end, its upper coverts without white spots. Eastern canadensis
Tail without orange-brown end, its upper coverts with white spots. Western franklini
C. canaden'sis. (Of Canada. Fig. 493.) Canada Groi'SE. Black Grouse. Spotted
Grouse. Spruce Grouse. Wood Grouse. Spruce "Partridge." Cedar "Par-
tridge." Swamp " Partridge." Adult $: Head smooth, but feathers susceptible of erec-
tion into a slight crest. A colored comb of naked skin over eye, bright yellow or reddish when
fully injected. Tail slightly rounded, of 16 feathers, a scant inch broad to their very ends.
Tarsi full-feathered to toes, which are naked, scaly, and fringed with deciduous pectinations
which grow and are moulted periodically. Tail black, broadly tipped with orange-brown ;
its upper coverts without decidedly white tips, though they may be edged and tipped with
gray. Under parts glossy black, extensively varied with white ; under tail-coverts tipped
with white ; sides and breast with white bars or semicircles ; white spots bounding throat ;
white spots on lore. Upper parts wavy-barred with black and gray, usually also with
some tawny markings on back and wings, and white markings on scapulars and wing-
coverts. In full feather, the appearance is of a black bird, grayer above, spotty with white
below, and orange-brown tail-end. Length 15.00-17.00 ; wing 7.00 : tail 5.50. Hen rather
smaller than the cock. No continuous black below, where white and tawny, latter par-
ticularly on breast, nearly everywhere pretty regularly wavy-barred with blackish, and
usually streaked with white on the flanks. Above, more like $, but browner. End of
TETRAONID.E: GROUSE.
733
(Ad. nat.
tail more narrowly orange-brown, and most of the tail irregularly barred or mottled with
buff, these markings tending to disappear with age. Pullets resemble tlie hen. Chicks in
the down are buff, more brownish above and
yellowish below, variegated with black spots
and stripes on the head and rump ; they resem-
ble young Ptarmigan, but the toes are bare.
N. Am., E. of the Rocky Mountains, northerly,
in woodland ; N. nearly or quite to limit of
trees; N. W. to tlie Pacific in Alaska; S. into
the northern tier of States, especially Maine,
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota; casually
to Massachusetts, more commonly to northern
New York. It is a very hardy bird, enduring
the rigors of sub-arctic winters, not properly Fig. 493. — Canada Grouse, nat. size.
migratory, and breeds throughout its regular e . . .)
range. It is especially a bird of coniferous woods, as spruce groves and tamarack swamps;
its food is mainly buds, leaves, and berries of many different kinds. The cocks begin to strut
and drum early in the spring, and the hens lay in May and June. Eggs numerous, 9-16,
usually about a dozen,
averaging ].(>8 X 1-25,
though some run up to
1 .90 in length ; they are
rather pointed, buff-col-
ored, dotted, spotted,
and boldly splashed with
ricli cliestnut, and darker
l)ro\vn ; the markings
rarely obsolete. Shape
and pattern of eggs
more like those of Ptar-
migan than of the prai-
rie Grouse. Canace
canadensis of former edi-
tions of the Key. Den-
drugapus (canachites)
canadensis, A. 0. U.
J 886 - 95. Canachites
canadensis, A. 0. U.
Suppl. List, Auk, Jan.
1899, p. 107, N... >J98.
C. c. 1 ab ratio ri us.
(Lat. (if Labrador.)
Labradou Sprltce
Grouse. Like true
canadensis ; $ in suin-
iiuT witli heavier wliite
markiuiTs <'U umlor
parts, and purt'r gray
(From "Game Birdu of North America," by D. G.
Flo. 494. — Fraiiklin'H Grouse.
Elliot.)
markings <>m iippcr p:nt.s : 9 in suinnier naicli niorc purely black, gray, and white, with little
buff or ochraconus. Hamilton Inlet, north, ru Liibrador. 15an<;.s, Pr. N. Engl. Zool. Club, i,
June 5, ]8J>9, p. 47; Auk, Oct. lr<9!>, p. .'UO.
734 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLING — ALECTOROPODES.
C. frank'lini. (To Sir John Franklin, of Arctic fame and sorrow. Fig. 494.) Franklin's
Spruce Grouse. Size, shape, and wiiole appearance of the foregoing. Tail rather longer,
more nearly even, with broader feathers ; lacking terminal orange-brown bar; tipped narrowly
with white, and its upper coverts broadly tipped with pure white, making upper side of tail
conspicuously spotty. Kocky and other mountains of western U. S., northerly, in Montana,
Idaho, Oregon, and Washington ; N. to the sources of the Saskatchewan, Athabasca, and
McKenzie Rivers in British America, and N. W. in the Pacific coast region through British
Columbia to southern Alaska, about lat. 60°. It abounds in tlie huge nest of mountains which
occupy most of Idaho, where it was discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1805, as described
but not technically named by them in ]814 ; see CoUES, History of the Expedition, ed. of 1893,
p. 870. It was rediscovered in Oregon and Washington by David Douglas, who named it
Tetrao franklini in Trans. Linn. Soc. xvi, 1829, p. 139; figured by Bonaparte, Am. Orn. iii,
1830, pi. 30; best figured by Swainson, F. B. A. 1831, pi. 61 ^J, 62 ?. The difl!"erence from
C. canadensis is parallel with that of Dendragapus richardsoni as c(jmpared with D. obscurus,
but seem to be pushed to specific characters, as intergrades are unknown. In habits the coun-
terpart of C. canadensis : eggs undistinguishable. This bird shares with some others the name
" fool hen," given in consequence of their innocence, and the insouciance with which they per-
mit approach so nearly that they may often be killed with a stick. (Canace canadensis frank-
lini of previous eds. of the Key. Dendragapus (canachites) franklinii, A. 0. U. Lists,
1886-95. Canachites franklinii, A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 107, No. 299.
DENDRA'GAPUS. (Gr. 8ev8pov, dendron, a tree ; dyaTraio, agapao, I love.) Dusky
Grouse. Characters of Canachites, for the most part, but tail normally of 18-20 feathers,
rarely 16 or 22, and a well-developed naked space on each side of the neck, ordinarily covered
by a bunch of special feathers, but capable of inflation into a hollow drum or tympanum.
Size large: wing over 8.00. Meat of breast dark. Eggs fewer than in Canachites, and less
heavily colored. One Western species, with two subspecies.
Analysis of Subspecies.
Tail black, with distinct slate-colored end.
Under parts clear bluish-slate color. Rocky Mts., etc., southerly ohscurus
Under parts sooty plumbeous. Alaska fuliginosus
Tail black, with indistinct or no slate-colored end. Rocky Mts., etc., northerly richardsoni
D. obscu'rus. (Lat. obscurus, dark.) Dusky Grouse. Blue Grouse. Gray Grouse.
Pine Grouse. Pine Hen. Old cock : Back and wings blackish-brown, finely waved and
vermiculated in zigzag with slate-gray, mixed with more or less ochrey-brown and some white
on scapulars. Long feathers of sides with white ends and shaft-stripes ; other under parts fine
bluish-gray or light slate color, varied with white, especially on lower belly, flanks, and vent-
feathers. Cheeks black ; chin and throat finely speckled with black and white. Though the
lateral feathers of the neck are smooth and simple, forming no decided tufts as in Tympanuchus
or Bonasa, they are somewhat enlarged, covering a naked tympanum : these feathers with
snowy white bases and black tips. Tail brownish-black, veined and marbled with gray, and
with a broad slate-gray terminal bar, 1.00-1.50 wide ; normally of 20 feathers, broad to their
very ends ; tail as a whole slightly rounded. Bill black ; iris brown-orange; comb over eye,
and neck-drum yellow. Size very variable ; well-grown cocks usually 20 or 22 inches, some-
times up to 2 feet long ; extent of wings about 30 inches ; wing 9 or 10 ; tail 7 or 8 ; weight
up to 3J lbs. Hen smaller ; length 17 to 19 inches ; wing 9 or less; tail 6 or less ; coloration
lighter, more extensively varied with white and tawny ; but showing distinctive slate-gray of
under parts, and slate bar at end of tail. Pullets like hen, but upper parts wdth hammer-
headed white shaft-lines. Tail with white shaft-lines enlarged at end, also marked on some
of the feathers with wavy blackish crossbars. Chicks in the down whitish below, above mixed
TETRAOXID.E: GROUSE. 735
whitish and brtiwuish, uuraerously spotted and streaked on the head and rump with blackish.
A species of general dispersion in elevated and wooded, especially coniferous, regions of the
West; S. to New Mexico and Arizona; in the Rocky Mts. northerly shading into rich-
ardsoni in Montana and Idaho, westerly into fuliginosus. A large cumbrous bird, usually
displaying stolidity or indifference to the j)resence of man, taking to trees when disturbed, and
very easily slaughtered ; hence it is a "fool lien " in the idiom of the " wild and woolly West."
Besides buds, leaves, and various berries, this Grouse feeds much on insects. Kesideut wher-
ever found, breeding up to the timber-line ; the rumbling mating process with much noise and
fuss in spring: eggs laid in May and June. These are fewer in numl)er than those of Cana-
chites, generally 8 or 9, but from 7 to 10, or perhaps a dozen; larger, more elongated, and
less heavily colored than those of Spruce Grouse and Ptarmigan ; creamy-buff, finely freckled
all over with chocolate-brown, sekhjm with any large spots : 2.00 X 1.40. (Canace (Dendra-
gapus) obscura of previous eds. of the Key. D. obscurus A. 0. U.)
D. o. rich'ardsoni. (To Sir John Richardson.) Richardson's Dusky Grouse. Size,
shape, and whole appearance of the foregoing. Tail rather longer, more nearly even, with
broader feathers, having the terminal slate bar reduced or wanting; general color more uni-
formly darker; black of throat more extensive. Rocky Mts., northerly, U. S. and northward.
It shades into obscurus proper in Idaho and Wyoming, into fuliginosus westward from this
region, but keeps its own characters N. to the limit of its range in the interior of British
America to about lat. 62°. (^Canace obscura richardsoni of previous eds. of the Key. D. ob-
scurus riclmrdsoni A. 0. U.)
D. o. fuligiiio'sus. (Lat. fuliginosus, sooty.) Sooty Grouse. With less broad slate tail-
b;ir than obscurus proper, but colors darker than in richardsoni even. $ above, blackish,
minutely freckled with gray and rusty-brown; beh)w, dark plumbeous; usually no distinct
wliite markings on scapulars or flanks. The lien is more different, with prevailing rich rusty
and chestnut-brown markings. Northwest Coast mountains, California and Oregon to Sitka,
Alaska, E. in the interior till it shades into obscurus in Nevada and Idaho, and into richard-
soni in Idaho and British Columbia. Eggs indistinguishable from those of the foreiroinir, usu-
ally 8-10 in number, sometimes more, averaging 1.95 X l-S-i. (Canace obscura fuliginosa of
previous eds. of the Key. D. obscurus fuliginosus A. 0. U.)
CENTROCER'CUS. (Gr. Kfvrpov, Jcentron, a spine, prickle; KtpKos, kerkos, tail.) Sage
Guor.sE. Spine-Tail Grouse. Of great size. Tail very long, equalling or exceeding the
wings, of l(t-20 stifiened, narrow, acuminate feathers, much graduated in length. Neck sus-
ceptible of enormous distention by means of air-sacs covered with naked livid skin — not regu-
larly hemispherical and lateral like those of Dendragapus and Tgmpanuchus, but forming a
great protuberance in front, of irregular contctur ; surmounted by a fringe of hair-like fila-
ments, several inches long, springing from a mass of erect white feathers; covered htlnw witii
a solid set of sharp white horny feathers, like fish-scales. (The affair is not easy to describe
in few words, especially as it is constantly changing with wear of tlie feathers, and is only
fully exhibited by the cock during the amours. The anatomical arrangement for intlition is
only a special exhibition of the air-sacs of other genera, as Dendragapus, 7'gmpanuchus, and
J'edicecetcs ; the peculiarities of tlie feathers are the inherited results of habitual attrition, the
l)irds rubbing tlie breast against tlie ground in their love-spasms ; and, as said, the state of the
]iarts is always changing with wear of the feathers. This accounts for the vague or conflicting
statements of authors.) Tarsus feathered to toes. Digestive system remarkable for slight
muscularity of the gizzard, which is ratln-r a membranous paunch than a grist-mill ; the bin!
browses rather than .scrat<dies for a living, feeding on wormwood and also extensively on in-
sects. The food is by no means .so exclusive as some have supposed, includinj; many kinds of
berries and seeds, and sometimes consisting mainly of grasshoppers. Sexe.s similar in color,
unlike in size and to some extent in form. .Meat of breast dark. Kggs dark in ground ctdor,
imitoiMdy spotted. One prairie species, p»'rfectly terrestrial.
736 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GA LLINJE — ALECTOROPODES.
C. urophasia'nus. (Gr. ovpa, oura, tail ; (fiaa-iavos, phasianos, a pheasant.) Sage Cock.
Sage Hen. Cock of the Plains. Largest of American Grouse. Full-grown cock 2-2^
feet long ; extent of wings 3 feet or more ; wing and tail about a foot ; vA^eight upward of 4
pounds — up to 8 pounds. Hen a third smaller, weighing 3-5 pounds. Above, varied with
black, gray, brown, and buff; below, chiefly white, with a large squarish black area on belly.
To describe the peculiar neck-feathering of the old cock more particularly : On each side is a
patch of feathers, meeting in front, with extremely stiff bases, prolonged into hair-like fila-
ments about 3.00 in length ; with the wearing away of these feathers in the peculiar actions
of the bird in pairing-time, their hard horny bases are left, forming the " fish -scales " above
said. In front of these peculiar feathers is the naked tympanum, capable of enormous inflation
under amatory excitement. Above them is a tuft of down-feathers, covered with a set of long
soft filamentous plumes corresponding to the ruff of Bonasa. Many breast-feathers resemble
the scaly ones of the neck, and are commonly found worn to a bristly " thread-bare " state.
Scaly bases of these feathers soiled white ; thready ends blackish ; fluffy feathers snowy-white,
like wool, the longer overlying filamentous plumes glossy black. Chin and throat blackish,
speckled with white ends of the feathers, usually presenting a definite white half-collar. Lin-
ing of wings white. Hen: Length about 21.00; wing 10.50; tail 7.00-8.50, of the same
general character as the cock's, but softer, shorter, less cuneate, with more rapidly tapering
feathers. A small tympanum, but no obviously peculiar feathers on neck. Coloration quite
like that of the cock, excepting that the throat is not black. Pullet: No peculiar neck-
feathers ; tail beginning to show its special form ; general coloration of the hen. Before the
September moult, all feathers of upper parts with sharp white hammer-headed shaft-lines, and
circular spotting of feathers of breast. Sooty belly-patch showing with first feathering. Chick
in down altogether different from the dingy yellow chick of Pedioecetes ; below grayish-white,
above grayish -brown mottled with black ; bill black. This remarkable bird, quite a Roland
for the Capercaillie's Oliver, inhabits the sterile sage-bush plains of the West ; an abundant and
characteristic species of these forbidding regions, beginning with the eastern foot-hills of the
Rocky Mts., S. into New Mexico and Arizona, sparingly N. to 49° or farther, in British Colum-
bia and the Milk River region of southern Assiuiboia and Alberta, in both of which provinces
I have observed it. Not in Dakota east of the Coteau, or in the Missouri Basin much below
the Yellowstone country. Its centre of abundance is the artendsia tracts of Colorado, Wyo-
ming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, eastern California, and Oregon. It straggles through the sage-
bush, but I have seen packs of hundreds in the fall. In the breeding season its sonorous
huUaballoo resounds on every hand where the birds are numerous ; the trouble begins in some
regions in February, and is kept up for a month or so; the laying season is protracted from
the latter part of March through May. The flesh is edible or not, "as you like it." The
behavior toward man varies with circumstances; sometimes the birds may almost be knocked
over with a stick, at others it is difficult to get a shot. In walking, the tail is somewhat ele-
vated, and swings sideways with each step. The flight is extremely vigorous, and at times
greatly protracted, with wings so widely expanded that the tips of the primaries stand apart ;
the course rapid and steady when the bird is once fairly on wing, accomplished with a succes-
sion of quick energetic wing-beats, alternating with sailing with stiffly motionless wings until
the impulse is spent. From the nature of its resorts the bird is exclusively terrestrial. The
egg is narrower and more pf)inted than that of any other Grouse of our country, measuring
from 2.05-2.35 X 1.50-1.60; average length 2.20; grayish or greenish-drab color, thickly
speckled with chocolate-brown, mostly in minute dots evenly distributed, occasionally with
well-defined spots up to size of a split pea, tending to circular shape. The number to a clutch
is indefinite, but does not average over 9, though 12, 15, even 17 have been found in one nest.
PEDICE'CETES. (Gr. TreStW, j)edion, a plain ; oIk^ttis, oiketes, an inhabitant.) Pin-tail
Grouse. Neck without obviously peculiar feathers, like those either of the Pinnated or
TETRAOXID.E: GROUSE. 737
Ruffed Grouse or Sage Cock, but with a hidden, definitely circumscribed space of reddish, vas-
cuhir, aud distensible skin on each side, constituting an undeveloped tyuipanuin, over which lies
a lateial series of slightly enlarged feathers. Head lightly crested ; longest feathers of crown
falliug on occiput ; a cresceutic naked patch over each eye of numerous orange or chrome-yellow
fringe-like processes, in several parallel curved rows. Feet full-feathered to between bases of
toes, with long, hair-like plumage reaching to or beyond end of hind claw; toes above with
one row of broad, transverse scutella, a row of smaller rounded scales on each side, and a con-
spicuous fringe of horny processes ; below, bossed and scabrous. Tail much shorter than wings,
normally of 18 true rectrices, of which the central pair are soft, parallel-edged and squaro-tipped,
proje(;ting 1.00-2.00 beyond next pair; the rest rapidly graduated, stiffish, and crisp (making a
creaking sound when rubbed together) ; at first about straight-edged, soon becoming club-shaped
(with a constricti(m near apex) by mutual attrition. Sexes similar, but cock rather larger and
darker than hen, with more prominent supraciliary papilla?. One species, of two or three sub-
species, of i)rairie, jjerfectly terrestrial. (A. 0. U. Lists, 188G-95 had Pediocoites, after a mis-
spelling of Baird, 1858, corrected to Pedioecetes Baird, 1858, and Coues, 1872; see Coues,
Auk, Jan. 1884, p. 54; Gill, Auk, Jan. 1899, pp. 20-23; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Jan. 1899,
p. 107.
A7iali/sis of Subspecies
2\'orthern Sharp-tailed Grouse. The markings black, white, and dark brown, with little or no tawny ; spots on the
under parts numerous, blackish, V-sliaped ; throat wliite, speckled. (Arctic America) phasianellus
Common Sharptaileil Grouse. The markings black, white, and especially tawny; below, spots fewer, brown,
U-shaped; throat buff. (U. S. and British Provinces) columbianus (and campestris)
P. phasianel'lus. (Diminutive of Lat. phasianus, a pheasant.) Northern Sharp-tailed
Grou.se. As above, in comparison with tlie ordinary bird next described. Very dark-ctdored,
in blackish and white variegation, with little bufl', even in falL Markings below heavier, in
sharper, more arrow-headed shape, quite blackish. Feet very heavily feathered, almost like
a Ptarmigan's. Interior of British America, E. to Hudson's Bay, N. and W. to the Yukon,
southward shading directly into the U. S. bird before reaching 49°. This is the true Tetrao
phasianellus — a name which was commonly applied to the following:
P. p. coluiiibia'niis. (Of the Columbia Kiver. Fig. 495.) Common* Sharp-tailed Grop.se.
I'rairih Chickkx of the Northwest. Pin-t.\ilei) Grouse or Pin-tail. Sprig-tailed
Grouse or Sprig-tail. Spike-tailed Grouse or Spike-Tail. White-Grouse or
White-Belly. Adult ^ 9 • Upper parts closely and pretty evenly variegated with blackish-
brown, reddish-brown, and grayish -brown, the pattern smallest on rump aud lower back, where
the blackish is mostly in sharp-angled stars; the reddish mo.^t conspicimus on upper back, and
both the lighter ccdors everywhere finely sprinkled with blackish. Wing-coverts like upper
back, but with numerous conspicuous rounded white spots, one on end of each featlier. Crown
and back of neck nearly like back, but in smaller pattern, and the markings mostly transverse.
An illy-defined white area on each side of neck, over tympanum, and slight whitish stripe
behind eye. Throat fine light buff, usually immaculate, but sometimes finely speckled quite
across. Under parts white, more or le.'is tinted with buff toward thrnat; breast with nnmeroiis
regular dark brown U-shaped spots, one on each feather; similar but smaller, sharper, and
ftwer such spots thence scattered over most of the under parts, only middle of belly being left
unmarked. Long feathers of sides under wings matching npj)er wing-coverts nearly ; under
wing-coverts and axillaries pure white, not marked ; Hanks with bars or U-spots of dark brown.
L<'gs grayish-wliit<', unmarked. Quills of wings fuscous ; outer webs of secondaries with equi-
distant, squarish, white or tawny spots, .secondaries tip]>ed and imperfectly twice or thrice barred
with white, and gradually becoming sprinkled with the varied ccdors of back, so that the inner-
most of them are almost precisely like greater coverts. Four juiddle tail-featliers variegated.
tnuch like back ; others white, or grayish-white on inner \><L-. il nr. i «■ t,s Imui.' niottlid ;
47
738
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
a few under tail-coverts spotted, the rest white ; upper tail-coverts nearly like rump. Iris light
brown; bill dark horn-color; part of under mandible iiesh - colored ; claws like bill; toes on
top liglit horn-color, soles darker. Length 18.00-20.00; extent 24.00-30.00; wing 8.00-9.00;
middle tail-feathers 4.00-6.00; shortest t;iil-feathers (outermost) about 1.50; tarsi 2.00; middle
toe and claw about the same; cuhnen of bill about 0.67; gape of bill 1.00-1.25; depth of bill
at base 0.50 or rather less. Pullets, before first moult : Crown bright brown, varied with black.
Sharp wliite shaft-lines above, which, with a black area on each feather, contrast with fine
gray and browu mottling of upper parts. Wing-coverts and inner quills with whitish spots.
Several inner tail-feathers wdth whitish
shaft-lines, and mottled with blackish
and bi'own. Lower throat and breast
with numerous dark browu spots ; sides
similar, the markings lengthening into
streaks. Bill brown above, pale below.
This lasts till the September moult is
completed. Chicks hatch dingy yellow,
mottled on crown, back, and wings
with brown and black. The Pin-tail
Chicken inhabits the western portions
of Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, a
small part of Iowa and of Illinois, all of
both Dakotas, thence diagonally across
Nebraska and Kansas to Colorado in
the Laramie and upper Platte regions ;
thence westward in suitable country to
the Sierras Nevadas and Cascade Ranges
of Calif(jrnia, Oregon, and Washing-
ton; northern limit may be conven-
tionally taken along the N. border of
the U. S., beyond which it shades into
the true phasianellus ; but birds rather
referable to this form than to the Arctic stock reach N. through British Columbia to some
portions of Alaska. In fine, this is the "prairie chicken" of the whole Northwest; usually
occurring where Ti/mpanuchus americamis does not, though the two overlap to some extent.
Formerly ranged in all the prairie of Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa, but is pushed westward
by the grain-fields — the same carrying Tympanuchus along, so that the one recedes as the
other proceeds westward. It is a fine game and table bird, like its near relative, much hunted
and easily killed ; its numbers have been materially reduced of late years, and its range east-
ward has contracted. The packs in which it goes in winter, sometimes by hundreds, break
up in early spring into the smaller "dancing-parties" which indulge in amorous revelry vuitil
such ribaldry results in matrimony, April-June; chicks are mostly able to tiy by midsummer.
Eggs 5-10-12-14-16, grayish-olive or drab-colored, uniformly dotted with brown points, rarely
larger than a pin-head; always quite different from those of Tympnnuchus ; 1.60 to 1.80 long
by 1.20 to 1.30 broad ; average 1.70 X 1-25. This bird was originally discovered and described
accurately by Lewis and Clark, who note that the scales fall off the toes in summer. They
found it abundant on the plains of the Columbia, 1805-6, whence it was named Phasianiis
columbianus by Ord in 1815; whence Pedicecetes phasianellus columhianiis Coues, 1872, and
all later editions of tlie Key.
P. p. eampes'tris. (Lat. relating to a crt»?^?/s or [)lain.) Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Birds of those portions of the Sharp-tail's range E. of the Rocky Mts., as above given, have
Fio. 495. — Head of Sharp-tailed Grouse, nat. size. (Ad. nat
del. E. C.)
TETRAONID/E: GROUSE. 739
been so called, and are said to be " above more rusty or ochraceous." I record the name with-
out further remark: Pedioccctes pliasianellus campestris ViiuQW . Pr. Biol. Soc. Wash., April,
1884, p. 93; A. O. U. No. 308 6.
TYMPANU'CHUS. (Gr. rvfinavov, tumpanon, Lat. tympanum, a sort of kettledrum or
tambourine, such as was used by Corybautcs in the orgies of Cybele and Bacchus, also an ear-
drum, tympanum, etc. ; and e;((u, echo, I have or hold.) PiN-N£CK GiiousE. Prairie Hens
proper. Cl'PIdoxias. Neck with a peculiar tuft of loose, lengthened feathers on each side,
like little wings, fancied to resemble those worn by Cupid instead of clothes, beneath which is
a circular tympanum of bare, yellow skin, capable of great distension, like half of a small
orange. Head with a sliglit soft crest. Tarsi scant-feathered to toes in front and on sides,
bare on a strip behind ; toes extensively webbed at base. Tail short, rounded, of 18 broad
stiflish feathers, with obtusely rounded ends. Sexes nearly alike in size, form, and color; plu-
mage below barred transversely. Meat of breast dark. Eggs plain or scarcely marked, very
numerous. Three species, one of them with a slight variety, of prairie, perfectly terrestrial.
(Cnpidonia Eeicii., 1852, of most authors, as of all previous editions of the Key; antedated by
Tijmpanuchus Gloger. 1842.)
Analysis of Spficies.
Mabtha's Vineyard Bikd. Feathers of neck-wiiigs few, lance-acute cupido
Feathers of neck-wings many, lance-obtuse.
The Common Bibd. Tarsal feathers hiding the bare strip. Dark bars above black and broad ; top of head mostly
blackisli americantts
Texas Bird. Tarsi very scant-feathered, the bare strip exposed. Dark bars above brown and narrow ; top of head
little blackish pnllidicinclus
T. oupi'do. (The tufts on the neck likened to conventional " Cupid's wings.") Pinnated
Grol.se of Martha's Vineyard. Heath Hen of Massachusetts. Brewster's
Cupiuo. Resembling closely the common bird next to be described, but apparently distinct,
and now isolated geographically. Adult (J : Ground color above light reddish-brown or rusty;
scapulars spotted with whitish tips of the feathers; below, rusty white with dark reddish-brown
bars in excess; feet cinnamon-brown mottled with white. "Neck-tufts composed of from
•3 to 5 narrow, acutely lance-pointed, stitlened feathers, with about the same number of over-
laj)i)ing coverts." Smaller than tlie common bird; weight considerably less ; wing 8.35. 9 still
smaller; wing hardly 8.00; darker and rustier, the bars on the under parts dull black; tiiil
dark (dove-brown with many fine irregular rusty bars. A woodland bird, inhabiting scrub oak
and i)ine tracts, now entirely confined to Martha's Vineyard, formerly ranging over nmch of
the U. S., E. of the AUeglianies, from Massachusetts to "Virginia." Eggs in June and July,
drab, unmarked, 1.70 X 1-30. Tetrao cupido LiNN. in part (in so far as based on Catesbyand
supposed to be Virginian and as now restricted). Cupidonia cupido Brewst. Auk, Jan. 1885,
p. 82. Cupidonia cupido bretvsteri Coles, Key, 1887, 3d ed. p. 884. Ti/mpanuchus cupido
KiD(;w. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1885, p. 355. A. 0. U. Check List, 1886-95, No. 3(K3.
T. ainerieu'iius. (Lat. American. Figs. 490, 497.) Common Pinnated Groise. Prai-
rie Hi;n or Chicken. Adult ^ 9 • Above, variegated with black, brown, tawny, or ochrey,
and wiiite, the latter especially on wings; below, pretty regularly barred with dark brown,
white, and tawny, in about eciual amounts; throat tawny, a little sj)eckled, or not; vent and
crissum mostly white; quills fu.scons, witli white spots on outer webs; tail fuscous, with nar-
row or imperfect white or tawny bars and tips ; feet plain. Sexes alike in c«dor, but 9 smalltT,
witli .shorter neck-tufts. Lcni.nh 10. 00-18. (M); extent about 28.(M) ; wing 8.(M)-9.(M) ; tail ab..ut
4. .")(); tarsus ratlier over, middle toe and claw ratlier under, 2.00; neck-tnfls 2.(M)-.3.5() inclios
long, little lanceolate or almost parallel-edged to tlieir obtuse or broad rounded ends; the longer
slitf ones 7-10 in nuuilicr. witii as many more short ones. Tliis well-known bird formerly nuiged
across miicli of tlie U. S., in »\mi country, to the Atlantic coast in some latitudes. It is
740
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GA LLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
now and long has been a bird of the Mississippi Valley at large, S. to some portions of
Texas and Louisiana, and in the other direction extending in the Great Lake region into
Ontario. Its usual range includes, wholly or in part, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, N. and S. Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas,
and the Indian Territory. It is creeping westward with the grain fiehls, especially along lines
of railroad. About 1874 it began to mix with the Sharp-tails in the vicinity of St. Paul, Minn.,
and pushed up the Missouri beyond Sioux City, Iowa ; and this was about the time it reached
over into the valley of
the Red River of the
North, both in Min-
nesota and North Da-
kota, and so on into
Manitoba. Its general
recession from easterly
localities corresponds
to its westward ad-
FiG. 490. — Foot of Prairie Hen, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) vance ■ the area of
greatest abundance has altered decidedly since I penned it for the 1884 edition of the Key,
and will doubtless continue to shift. It is a resident bird for the most part, wherever found,
but some N. and S. migration with season has been locally observed, in Minnesota, Iowa, and
Missouri, thus mostly west of the Mississippi. Its abundance, and the excellence of its flesh,
render it an object of commercial importance. Though there may be little probability of its
extinction, legislation against its wanton or ill-timed destruction is a measure of obvious pro-
priety. The food of
this bird consists
largely of cultivated
grain, as well as of a
great variety of seeds
and berries, and also
insects. The winter-
ing packs break up
usually in March ;
there is then a period
of courtship with
strange antics and
much booming noise
before the birds quietly
pair oflf ; the eggs may
be found from the lat-
ter part of that month
through the summer,
but mostly April-
June. They are in-
definitely numerous, averaging over a dozen, and more than 20 have been found in one nest;
they average 1.75 X 1-30, with extremes in length of 1.60 to 1.85, thus averaging shorter,
rounder, and smaller than those of the Sharp-tail; pale greenish -gray, with sometimes a
glaucous bloom, usually unmarked, sometimes very minutely dotted with brown. (Cupi-
donia cupido of former editions of the Key, as of most authors since Baird, 1858, nee Tetrao
cupido Linn, as abov: restricted; C. pinnata Brewst. Auk, Jan. 1885, p. 82; Tympanu-
chns pinnatus Ridgw. 18£5; Cupidonia americana Reich. Syst. 1852, p. xxix, "based
Fig. 497. — Prairie Hen. (From Lewis.)
TETRAONIDyE: GROUSE. 741
oa VoUst. Naturg. Hiihnen, pi. 217, figs. 1896-8;" Tympamtchus americanus, A. 0. U.
No. 305.)
T. a. attwateri. (To H. P. Attwater.) Attwater's Praiuie Hex. A form described
from the coast region of Louisiana and Te.xas. 7'. attwateri Bexdire, Forest and Stream,
May 18, 1893, p. 425. T. a. attirateri A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Apr. 1894, p. 130; Check
List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 305 a.
T. pallidicinc'tus. (Lat. paUidtts, pale; cinctus, begirt.) Pale Pinnated Grouse.
Le.s.ser Prairie Hen. Above, dark markings not in excess of lighter markings, and rather
brown than black, each bar being brown between a pair of narrow borders ; below, dark bars
narrow, with the same tendency to enclose a broad brown one between any two dusky ones.
Tarsi scant-feathered, exposing the bare strip behind. Size smaller than that of average amer-
icanus ; $ wing under 8.50, 9 wing about 8.00. Southwestern prairies, from some portions
of Kansas and the Indian Territory into Texas. C. cupido iKillidicincta Ridgw. Bull. I-^ssex
Inst. Dec. 187.3, p. 199; CoUES, Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. 584, and of later editions. T. pallidi-
cinctus KiDGW. 1885 ; A. O. U. Check List, 2d ed. No. 307.
BOXA'SA. (Gr. ^ovaaos, Lat. honasus, a bison : the " drumming" of the bird being likened
to the bellowing of a bull.) Ruffed Grouse. Shoulder-knot Grouse. Head with a
full soft crest. Neck on each side with a tuft or umbel of numerous (15-30) broad soft glossy-
black feathers, covering the rudimentary tympanum. Tail about as long as wings, am))ly
rounded or fan-shaped, normally of 18 soft broad feathers, with truncate ends. Tarsi scant-
feathered, naked below, with 2-3 rows of scutella in front. Plumage of blended and varied
colors ; sexes alike. Meat of breast white, unlike that of any of the foregoing Grouse. Eggs
numerous, normally unmarked or with little spotting. Woodland species, more or less ar-
boreal, of common occurrence in suitable places, representing in America the closely allied
European genus Tetrastes, in which the tail has only 16 feathers, the epaulettes are unde-
veloped and the sexes unlike.
Analysis of Varieties.
Brown, of mixed and varied shades of reddish and gray. Eastern and Northern umbellus
Pale ; slaty-gray the prevailing shade. Rocky Mountain region umbelloiiles
Dark ; chestnut-brown the prevailing shade. Pacific Coast region sabinei
B. uinbel'lus. (Lat. mnbeUiis, an umbel, umbrella; umbra, shade, shadow ; alluding to the
neck-tufts. There is no such Latin word as " umhelhis;^^ and the form of the feminine noun
ximhella happens to suit Bonasa. Linnteus had Tetrao umbellus, as if the specific name were
an adjective in the masculine gender, but the only proper form of the adjective from umbclla
would be innbellatus, a, um. Figs. 498, 499.) Ruffed Grouse. Ruffed Heath-cock.
Shoulder-knot (JRorsE. Tippet Grou.'^e. Drumming Groise. " Partrid(;e," New
England. Dri'.mming Partridge. Birch Partridge. " Pheasant," Middle and Soutii-
ern States. Drumming Pheasant. Mountain Pheasant. Whiteflesher. Adult (^9:
Above, variegated reddish- or grayish-brown ; back with numerous, oblong, pale, black-edged
spots. Below, whitish, barred with brown. Tail brown or gray, numerously and narrowly
Idack-barred, with a broad subterminal black zone, and tijiped with gray. Neck-rutHe <>f ^
mostly glossy black, and very full ; of 9 smaller and more brown. Colors endh'ssly varied
as well as blended, and the prevailing hmv of the brown birds tif the East sliades insensildy
i'lto that of the Western subspecies. Length lO.OO-lH.IK); extent 23(X); winu 7.(K>-8.(H); tail
a1)out the same. Young of both sexes sufficiently resemble the adults to bo unmistakable,
and detailed description of every feather would be tedious and ])rofitIes3. Chicks in <lown arc
very pretty, being of various buff shades deepf'iiinir on some parts into chestnut, with a black
stripe on each side of the head. There is a sort of dichromatism in this species, somewhat like
that of the red and gray Megascops Owls, some individnals beinir browner, otiiers i:rayer. than
742
SYSTEM A TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
Fig. 40S.
nat. del. E. C.
• Head of Ruffed Grouse, nat. size. (Ad.
the average ; but this is irrespective of age, sex, season, or locality, does not in the least corre-
spond with the pretended geographical distribution of the subspecies togata M'hich some late
Grouse-fanciers have sought to establish, and I cannot imagine myself humoring such a vrhim
in the " Key." We have quite enough to do iu making out umbelloides to be subspecifi-
cally different. A vv^oodland bird, like the species of Canachites, abundantly distributed over
eastern North America ; W. in the U. S. to
the central plains ; in British America from
Hudson's Bay to Alaska; S. in the U. S.
to Georgia, Mississippi, and Arkansas, but
less common, except in the southern Appa-
lachian regions. This fine game bird is well
known under the above names iu different sec-
tions ; but it is neitlier a "partridge" nor a
" pheasant," being, in fine, a Ruffed Grouse.
The ''drumming" sound for which this bird
is noted is not vocal, as some suppose, but
is produced by rapidly whirring the wings in
the air, without beating them against each
other, against the body of the bird, nor yet against the log or other hard object upon which
the cock stands to perform this peculiar love-act ; the hen does not drum. The sound may
be heard at any season, but chiefly in spring, from February to the end of the breeding season,
which is at its height in May. This grouse is not migratory, and its breeding range is coinci-
dent with its general distri-
bution ; its favorite haunts
ai'e groves, coppices, and
under woods rather than
deep forests ; the nest is of
a few leaves, etc., on the
ground, rarely on a log or
stump or in a brush heap,
but often under or amidst
such things. Eggs 8-14,
exceptionally more, aver-
agmg a devil's dozen in
number, in color very char-
acteristic ; from creamy
white to creamy buff, usu-
ally immaculate, some-
times minutely dotted or
even speckled witli brown ;
they resemble Partridge
eggs somewhat in shape,
which approaches the
pyriform, broad and blunt at one end. pointed at the other; size about 1.60 X 1-20, moderately
variable either way. B. umbellus and B. u. togata, A. 0. U. Nos. 300 and 300 a.
B. u. umbelloi'des. (Lat. umbella, as above defined, and Gr. elSos, eidos, resemblance.)
Gray Ruffed Grouse. A subspecies of the last, of very difterent tone of color in its ex-
treme development, but shading into the common Ruffed Grouse by insensible degrees in Brit-
ish America. When fully manifested, as follows : <J Lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts
and tail slate-gray, with little if any brown tinge; the feathers of the back and rump with
Fig. 499. —Ruffed Grouse. (From Lewis.)
TETRAONIDJ^: GROUSE. 743
light gray cordate or arrow-headed spots uarrowly bordered with bhick ; tail-feathers finely
venniculated with black, and with a broad subti^rmiual black zone. Ruffle glossy greenish-
black. Under parts wliilish, more or less tinged with tawny-brown, with several broad brown
cross-bars on each featliei-, largest and most distinct on long feathers of sides, some of which
have also white shaft-lines ; heavy feathers of flanks and vent mostly whitish, unmarked.
Feathei-s of fore-neck and scapulars blended with gray, rich reddish-bnjwn, ochrey-brown, and
white, in indescribable confusion. Most of the wing-coverts with white shaft-lines. Hen
with ruffle less developed, varied with brown and white. General tone more rufous than
in the cock. Rocky Mountain region, U. S. and British America, running into both the other
varieties.
B. u. sabi'nei. (To J. Sabine.) Red -Ruffed Grouse. Oregon Ruffed Grouse.
More nearly resembling the common Ruffed Grouse, but coloration more heavily brown, —
darker and richer. More blacki.sh to the brown, and latter almost chestnut in well-marked
cases. Pacific coast region, northern California to British Columbia. This bird was dis-
covered by Lewis and Clark in 1805-6, and first named Tetrao fusca by Ord, Guthrie's
Geogr. 2d Am. ed. ii, 1815, p. 317. But owing to the badly edited text of the History (»f the
Expedition published in 1814, what Lewis and Clark meant by their "small brown" was
unintelligible till I found out by examination of their original manuscripts: see the 1893 edi-
tion of the History, p. 872. In strictness, therefore, this bird should be called B. umbella fusca
CouES; but I waive the point in favor of B. u. sabinei CouES, Key, 1872, p. 235, as this is
the established name, adopted liy the A. 0. U. No. .'300 c, after Tetrao sabinei of Douglas,
wlio rediscovered the bird and described it in Trans. Linn. Soc xvi, 1829, p. 137.
LAGO'PUS. (Gr. XaycoTTouj, lugopous, Lat. lagopus, hare-foot : the densely feathered feet
resemble those of rabbits.) Ptarmigan. Snow Grouse. No peculiar feathers on head or
neck. Tarsi and toes densely feathered. Tail short, little rounded, normally of 14 broad
feathers, with long upper coverts, some of which resemble rectrices, the central pair of these
usually reckoned as rectrices, making 16. A naked red comb over eye. Eggs most heavily
colored (except in L. leucurus). Boreal and alpine Grouse, shaped nearly as in Catiachites,
remarkable for their changes of plumage, becoming in winter snow-white (excepting the British
insular race), with or without black tail and loral stripe. The plumage is subject to frequent
and rapid change, either by loss and gain of feathers, or by their wear and tear; there are
ordinarily tiiree difft-rent plumages a year, not the same in summer in opposite sexes of some
sfiecies ; the shed<iiiig extends even to the claws, which are dropped jieriodically when they
liave overgrown, like some portions of the claws of some lemmings. Pullets when half
grown drop their first flight-feathers, which are brown, and the new set comes out white in
all the species but one. Hence, specific characters founded upon color alone are peculiarly
fallacious in this genus. We have three well-known good species, one of them with several
alleged subspecies; I record all these, also the three other North American forms, without
vouching for any excepting L. lagopus, L. rujiestris, and L. leucurus. The cxtralimital spe-
cies are: (1) L. scoticus, the Red Grouse, Rod Game, or Moor-f..wl of Britain. (2) L. mutus
or alpinus, the Ptarmigan most properly so-called, of Continental Europe from the Pyrenees
and Alps northward, also in Scotland. (3) L. hijperboreus or hemileucurus, of Spitzbergeu,
witli the tail partly white in winter. The word ptarmigan, with an unexplained initial p,
dating back over 200 years, is from the Gaelic taruutihan. suppi'sed to mean mountaineer, and
was earlier spelled termigant, termagant, etc
Analt/si.1 of Specien, (ilhijnl Spr.i,--. and .1. <>■ I'. Siihsprrii'S.
Tail block at all seasons.
In winter, no black stripe on head. Bill stout.
Secondaries wliite-shafted. Nortliern N. Am. and Europe, etc hi/jopus
Secondaries black-shafted. Newfoundland only .. <i rm
744 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN/E — ALECTOROPODES.
In winter a black stripe on head. Bill slender.
Northern N. Am. at large, Europe, etc rupestris
Greenland and N. K Arctic Am r. reinhardii
Newfoundland only welchi
Uualashka and adjacent Aleutian Islands '• nelsoni
Atka, one of the Aleutians ''• atkhensis
Kyska and Adak, two of the Aleutians, June and July r. townsendi
Attn, one of the Aleutians, May and June evermanni
Tail white at all seasons leucurus
L,. lago'pus. (Figs. 500, 501.) Willow Grouse. White Grouse. Willow Ptar-
migan. Willow Partridge. Rehusak. Bill very stout and convex, its depth at base
0.40 or more, as much as distance from nasal fossa to tip; whole culmen 0.75; bill black at
all seasons. <? 9 , in
winter : Snow white ;
14 tail-feathers black,
white - tipped ; middle
pair (which most re-
semble and perhaps are
true rectrices, having
no after - shafts) to-
gether with all the
coverts, one pair of
which reach to end
of tail, white ; shafts
of several outer wing-
quills black ; those of
the secondaries white ;
no black stripe on head.
(J, in summer: Head
and fore parts rich chest-
nut or orange-brown,
more tawny-brown on
back and rump ; the
richer brown parts
sparsely, the tawny-
brown more closely,
barred with black ; most
of the wings and other
under parts remaining
white. 9 similar, wholly
colored excepting wings,
Fig. 500. — Willow Ptarmigan, summer plumage, J nat. size. (From Brehm.) ^]^g color more tawnv
than in ^, and more heavily, closely, and uniformly barred with black. Length 15.00-17.00;
wing 7.50-8.00 ; tail 5.50. No concise description will fit all the plumages of age and sex,
when the bird is not white ; but the species is unmistakable in all its mutability. Chicks in
down are extremely pretty, of a drab color above and sulphury below, the upper parts mottled
with black, the head and rump striped with the same, the crown chestnut. A circuinboreal
species of Europe, Asia, and North America, in the latter S. barely to the U. S. border, as
accidentally in winter to Maiue and Massachusetts; in Alaska S. to Sitka; breeding range
confined to the Fur Countries from lat. 55° northward to the limit of trees, but in the Bar-
ren Grounds mainly replaced by the Rock Ptarmigan ; migratory to some extent. Packing
tetraonidjE: grouse.
745
Fig. iJOl. — Willow Ptarmigan, winter plumage, \ nat. size. (From
Brehm.)
from end of September through winter and most of spring. Pairing in April, laying from
late in May through June. Nest on the ground, of a few leaves, etc. ; eggs G-12, measuring
about 1.75 X 1.25, ranging from
1.85 X l-<35 down to l.GO X 1-15;
they are very heavily colored, ordi-
narily, with bold confluent blotches
or smears of intense burnt sienna
color, almost black in effect, upon
a more or less reddish-tinted buff
ground, seldom evenly marked with
small discrete spots. All the eggs
of birds of this family are colorless
when the shell first forms higli in the
oviduct, acfjuiring pigment as tliey
pass down ; in Ptarmigan, where
the coloring is so heavy, an egg cut
from the pigment-secreting part of
the passage is as if covered with
fresh paint, soft and sticky, which
maybe rubbed ofl' before it "sets"
on the shell. X. alhus of most au-
thors, as of former editions of the
Key, after Tetrao alhus Gm. ; but
as this species is the prior Tetrao
lagopus Lixx., our rules now require
the tautonym L. lagopus. It is also T. or L. Japponicus, rehusak, cachinnans, suhalpinus,
saliceti, and hrncloj(hict>jlHS of various writers.
L. 1. al'leni. (To Dr. J. A. Allen, first president of the A. 0. U.) Allex's Willow Ptar-
.MiGAX. New^foundland Willow Ptarmigax. Like the last; said to be distinguished
by having both secondaries and primaries black-shafted, and these and some of the coverts
marked on their webs with blacUish. Newfoundland only. L. alha alleni Stej. Auk, Oct.
1884, ji. .'J(J9. L. lagopus alleni Kiugw. Man. 1887, p. 113; A. 0. U. No. 301 a.
L. rupes'tris. (Lat. rupestris, relating to rupis, a. rock; rupestrine.) Rock PTARMIGAN.
Bill slenderer for its length tlian that of lagopus, its depth at base under 0.40, and less than
distance from nasal fossa to tip; wh<de cuhnen 0.67; bill always black. J 9 > •" winter: As
in L. lagopus, but a black transocular or loral stripe. ^ 9)1" summer: Plumage, ex-
cepting umch of wings, and tail, barred with blackish-brown and brownish-yellow, niostly iu
rather coarse zigzags, but also blotched on the back. Lower i)arts except breast and siiies
white in $. Rather smaller than lagopus. Length 13.00-14.75; win-x 7.00-7.50; tail 4.50.
The black stripe on the head is usually evident at all seasons, but may be lacking iu the 9-
Arctic America, including S(»me parts of Greenland ; nm S. to the U. S. ; supposed not to occur
from N. Labrador northward, tliat region being prudently reserved for L. r. reinhardti ; allowed
on tliose Alt;utian islands wliich are not reserved by the classifiers for some other Rock Ptar-
migan ; N. Asia; Iceland. The bird has never been found S. of the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
or anywhere in the U. S. except Alaska. It is a near relative of the Kumpean L. viutus or
alpinus, indistincuishablo in winter plumage, separable in summer. In North America its
breethni,' rantje is practically coincident with its general distribution. In the Barren Grounds,
of which the Rocker is so characteristic, tlie egps are laid in June and July: they rescmblo
those of lagopus, but average fewer, usually (5-10, rarely mi»re ; tliey are al.so darker and nither
smaller: sizr about 1-70 X IIi^- "The summer plum:ige is assumed at variable periods of
746
SVSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
the months of April, May, aud even in early June, according to the locality. The moult for
the summer is usually shown first on the head and neck, followed by the lower back, sides,
breast, middle back, Hanks, and abdomen, in the order named. The abdomen aud chiu are the
last areas to show the complete moult. The parts named also assume, in the order given,
the white winter plumage. During the time of the suuimer plumage scarcely a single day
passes that the general color of the feathers is not modified by the appearance or loss of some
feather." {Turner.) Hence the difficulty if not impossibility of establishing races of this
species upon color, as the amount of barring, vermiculation, or nebulation with dusky, tawny,
Fio 502. — Eveiiuaim's Ptarmigan.
and gray is so rapidly changing in the same individuals ; and birds taken at different dates in
summer, in the same locality, may differ from one another more than specimens from different
regions, representing several alleged varieties, are always finmd to do. Rock Grouse, of Pen-
nant and Latham; Tetrao rnpestris Gu. 1788; Aud. Orn. Biog. iv, 1838, p. 483, pi. 368.
T. (L.) rupestris Sw. and Rich. F. B. A. ii, 1831, p. 354, pi. 64. L. rupestris Leach,
1817; AuD. B. Am. v, 1842, p. 122, pi. 301 ; Elliot, Mon. Tet. 1865, pi. 23; and of authors
generally, as of all editions of the Key; A. 0. U. No. 302. But L. mutus var. rtipestris
RiDGW. in Bd. Brew, and Ridgw. N. A. B. iii, 1874, p. 462.
TE TRA ONID.E : GEO USE.
747
"^:-
'•ife^
L. r. rein'hardti. (To J. Reiiiliardt, the well-known naturalist.) Reinhardt's Rock
Ptarmigan. Greenland Ptarmigan. As before; ^ in summer less regularly aud more
finely barred above on a grayish-brown ground. Greenland and opposite shores of N. Am., S.
to Ungava in Labrador. Tetrao reinliardi Brehm, Lehrb. 1823, p. 440. T. reinhardti Brehm,
Isis, 1826, p. 930. Lagopus reinhardti Brehm, Naum. 1855, p. 287. L. rupestris reinhardtii
Blas. B. Eur. 18fi2, p. IG. L. rupestris reinhardti X. 0. U. Check-List, 1886, No. 302 «;
RiDGW. Man. 1887, p. 200. L. rupestris reinhardi A. 0. U. Check-List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 302 a,
reverting to Brehm's original misspelling, which liad been set right in the former ed. of tlie
List, as in the Key, 2d
ed. 1884, p. 588. T. (L.)
viutits Sw. Fn. Bor. Am.
ii, 1831, p. 450. L. mit-
tus reinhardti DuBUS,
Consp. 1871,p. 21. Te-
trao mutus Aud. Orn.
Biog. V, 1839, p. 196,
pi. 318. Lagopus amer-
icanus Aud. B. Am. v,
1842, p. 119, pi. 300;
Baird, B. N. a. 1858,
p. 637. L. groenlandicm
Brehm, Naum. 1855, p.
287. L. rup>estris var. oc-
cidentalis Sund. Svensk.
A'et.-Ak. Forh. 1874,
p. 20. (Ob.s. Connected
witli this geographically
is L. loeldii of Newfound-
land, given below as a
full species.)
L. r. nel'soni. (To E.
W. Nelson.) Nelson's
Rock Ptarmigan.
Unalashka Ptarmi-
gan. As before : ^ in
summer very finely ver-
miculated aliove with
black on a (h'C]) imiber-
brown grniiud, licl<iwthe
.same on a briglit tawny
ground, and witli some blackish feathers intermixed ; 9 indistinguishald<' fmm that of rupestris
proper. Unalaslika and some of the neighboring Aleutian Islands. L. albus Dall, 1873,
nee auct. L. rupestris bis Nelson, Cruise Corwin, 1883, p. 81, No. 79 (not No. 78). L.
rupestris Turner, Cont. Nat. Hist. Alaska, 1886, p. 155, in part. L. rujicstris ueboni Stej.
Auk, July, 1884, p. 226, type No. 93,448 U. S. N. M. May 18, 1877; Nelson, Rep. Al:i.<5ka.
1887, p. 138, jd. 10; Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 201 ; A. (). V. Check-Lists, 1886-95, No. 302 6;
see ColES, ,\uk, Jan. 1884, p. 79.
L. r. atklieii'sis. (Lat. of Atlilia, AtliUa, or Atka, one of the intermediate islands of the
Aleutian diaiii.) Tikmr's Kock I'tarmkjan. Atkhan Ptarmigan. As before : ^ \n
summer very fiuely and (hiisrly veriniciilated jibove witli black on a i>ale raw-urn'" '■ ."-.Mmd,
|CAwin. Onei-ibcivA.
Via. 503. — Wliite-tailfd PtarmlRan. (From "Game Birds of North Amoru-a,"
by D. G. Elliot.)
748
SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
below the same on a pale brownish-ochre ground. 9 i" summer similarly marked on a
pale grayish-buff ground. Atkha Island; type specimens Nos. 85,597-85,600, U. S. N. M.
May 29 and June 7, 1879. L. mutus atkhensis Turner, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. v, July, 1882,
p. 227 and p. 230; Coues, Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. 588. L. rupestris atkhensis Nelson,
Cruise Corvvin, 1883, p. 56 e (an erratum leaf cancelling L. rupestris occidentalis of p. 82);
Turner, Cont. Nat. Hist. Alaska, 1886, p. 155, pi. 3 ^,4 9; Ridgw. Man. 1887, p. 201;
A. O. U. No. 302 c.
Li, r. towu'sendi. (To Chas. H. Townsend.) Townsend's Eock Ptarmigan. Kyska
and Adak Ptarmigan. Based on specimens taken on Kyska Island, June 8, 1894, Nos.
135,634 ^, 135,636 9,
U. S. Nat. Mus.; and
others on Adak Island,
July 4th. Elliot, Auk,
Jan. 1896, p. 26; A. O.
U. Suppl. List, Auk,
Jan. 1897, p. 119, No.
302 d. As Mr. Elliot
says: "Comparisons of
Ptarmigans should be
niade between indi-
viduals not only from
the same locality, but
also taken in the same
month, if possible the
same day, for these
perplexing birds being
in a constant state of
moult, a few days' dif-
ference in their time of
capture exhibits much
change in their appear-
ance, and one who has
not studied them care-
fully with sufficient ma-
terial, could easily be
led to form an erroneous
opinion regarding the
status of a subspecific or
even a specific form." I have little faith in the expediency, even in the possibility, of distin-
guishing this from the three foregoing subspecies, all of which are lumped by the latest mo-
nographer, Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii, 1893, p. 48. The two following appear
to be better marked.
Li. welch'i. (To Geo. 0. Welch, of Lynn, Mass.) Welch's Ptarmigan. Newfound-
land Ptarmigan. Similar to L. rupestris. $ in summer less regularly or very confusedly
vermiculated and dotted with black on a gray ground with little if any tinge of tawny, and
shafts of primaries brown. 9 lacking the black transocular bar. " Tlie general effect is that
of a dark grayish-plumbeous bird, plentifully besprinkled with fine dots of 'pepper-and-salt'
color." Newfoundland ; believed to be peculiar to that island, where true riq^estris does not
occur, and therefore not to intergrade. Brewst. Auk, Apr. 1885, p. 194 ; Ridgw. Man. 1887,
p. 201 ; A. 0. U. No. 303.
Fig. 504. — Wliite-tailed Ptarmigan in Winter.
America," by D. G. Elliot.)
(From " Game Birds of North
PERDICID.E: PARTRIDGES AXD QUAILS. 749
L. ev'ermanni. (To Prof. W. B. Evermaiin. Fig. 502.) Evermann's Rock Ptar-
migan. Attu Rock Ptarmigan. Different from any of the foregoing, and bearing upon
the Eurasiatic L. mutus rather than upon any of the American forms of L. riipestris. ^ in
June blackish, little varied with any russet markings, and these chieHy on the head and neck
and rump, leaving the rest uniform except for some lingering white feathers of the winter dress.
Forehead, throat, lower breast and belly, crissum, feet, and the whole wings, except some of
the coverts, white ; shafts of primaries pale brown. Bill and claws black ; comb scarlet.
Lengtli 14.00; wing /.ilO; tail 5.80. 9 in ^^'<^y differs, as usual in this section of the genus,
and is smaller; length l.'i.OO; wingG.GO; tail 5.00. Attu Island, about 1,400 miles W. of
Unalashka. Elliot, Auk, Jan. 1890, p. 25, pi. 3, pub- in July. A. 0. U. Suppl. Check-
List, Auk, Jan. 1897, p. 119, No. 302. 1. (Compare L. ridgwayi, probably to be known as
L. mutus ridgwayi, from the Commander Islands, 300 miles W. of Attu.)
L,. leucu'rus. (Gr. XeuKos, leucos, white; ovpd, oura, tail. Figs. 503, 504.) Whitk-tailed
Ptarmigan. Rocky Mountain Snow Grouse. Mountain Quail. <? 9, in winter:
Entirely snow-white; bill black, rather slender, and general proportions nearly as in rupestris,
but rather smaller; length 12.00-13.00; wing under 7.00. J* 9 , in summer: Tail, most of
the wing, and lower parts from breast, remaining white ; rest of the plumage minutely marked
with black, white, and tawny or grayish-brown, varying in precise character almost with every
specimen. Rut there is no difficulty in recognizing this white-tailed species, of alpine distribu-
tion in western North America extending from Alaska to New Mexico (lat. 37"^), N. to Liard
River, W. in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. In its southerly latitudes, in sum-
mer, it inhabits the mountain ranges from timber-line to the highest peaks, in winter ranging
lower down, as it does also in summer in the higher latitudes. Eggs very diflFerent from the
heavily painted ones of lagopus and rupestris, and resembling those of the Grouse of the gen-
era Canachites and iJendragapus, being of dull creamy complexion, minutely dotted over the
whole surface with burnt-sienna, and not thickly enough to obscure the ground-ci)lor, few of
the markings exceeding a ])iu's head in size; shape purely ovoidal, greatest diameter near the
middle; size 1.70 X 1-14 to 1.85 X 1-20; number variable, usually less than a dozen. In the
Rocky Mts. of the U. S. they are laid in June and July.
Family PERDICID^ : Partridges and Quails.
Well distinguished fmm Tetraonida; by the nakedness of the feet and nasal fossae; less
easily separated from Phftsianidce, which also have tliese parts unfeathered. Viewing only
the central or typical members of the Perdicidcc, or ordinary Partridges and Quails, their differ-
ence from such birds as Pheasants is obvious; but they are so closely connected by a number
of outlying genera that their separation, either as families or as subfamilies, becomes a matter
of convention, there being actually no line of demarcation. Thus, in the Indian and Ceyloncse
genus Gfdloperdix the characters are equivocal ; both sexes are usually spurre<l, liave the orbits
bare, differ in plumage, and are technically phasianiue ; yet they are only 12-14 inches long,
with short 14-feathered tail, and have a perdicine aspect. Another equivocal genus is litiinbu-
sicolx, with 3 species of India, China, and Formosa, in whicli the sexes are alike in plumage,
tlie (J anil sometimes the 9 is spurred, the orbits are feathered, the 14-feathered tail is rather
long, and the total length is only 10-12 inches; thus tliey stand directly on the line between
jdiasianine and perdicine forms. Again, the African Ptilopachifs fuscus is m>t spurred in either
sex; the sexes are alike; there is a jwst-orbital bare space; the moderate tail is 14-feathered;
the length is a foot or less, and the whole aspect perdicine. One, the Indian Ophri/sia, is
tlioroui^flily (juail-like in aspect, only 8 or 9 inches long, wine 3.50, tail IO-fcatlured. and sexes
dissimilar: thus no doubt belonging on thf perdicine siiie of ilie line. The u'cnera hero
750 S YSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLINuE — ALECTOROPODES.
named are the links between Phasianin/s and Perdicinee; for Galloperdix and Bambusicola
lean toward the former, while Ptilopachys and especially Ophrysia connect them directly
with such undoubted quail-forms as Excalf actor ia, Syncecus, and Coturnix. Ogilvie-Grant
has pointed out a character wliich almost unexceptioually separates Perdicidce from Phasi-
anid(e. Tiiis is, that in the former the 1st primary is longer than, or at least equal to, the
10th, while in the latter it is much shorter — or if longer (as it is in Phasianus) the tail
is much longer than the wing in phasianine birds, it being always shorter than the wing in
p(!rdicine birds. Waiving the four exceptional genera named, the following characters apply
to the Perdicidce:
Tarsi, toes, and nasal fossse bare of feathers, at least in part, as a rule entirely. Sides
of head usually feathered. Tail short, always shorter than the wings, usually much shorter ;
first primary longer than, or at least equal to, the 10th (or if decidedly shorter, then the tail
much shorter than the wing). Spurs, combs, and wattles as a rule wanting (the reverse of the
rule in Phasianidce) . Sexes in general similar, and sexual habit monogamous.
These expressions will almost infallibly separate any perdicine bird from the Phasianidce,
in which the rule is: Large size, long many-feathered tail, spurs on the tarsi, head in part
naked and carunculate, sexual diversity, and polygamous habit. On the side of the Tetra-
onidce the line is much better drawn. The most ambiguous form is Lerwa nivicola of the
Himalayas, with half- feathered yet spurred tarsi, 14-feathered tail, and sexes similar. An-
other grouse-like perdicine genus is Tetraogallus, with spurred tarsi, 20-22-feathered tail,
a leugtli of 20 inches or more, and the sexes subsimilar ; it includes several species, as T.
tihetanus, T. himalayensis, T. caspius, and T. caucasicus, the latter known as the Chourtka.
A remarkable bird related to these is Tetraojihasis ohscurus of Tibet, about 18 inches long,
with spurred tarsi and 18-feathered tail. But the three genera here noted are no doubt to
be brought within the perdicine line, being in fact not far removed from the genus Perdix
itself.
The PerdicidcE are divisible into two subfamilies mainly or solely upon geographical
grounds, though the American forms have a fades peculiar to themselves. The introduction
of the common Quail of Europe into this country brings both within our limits.
Analysis of Stibfamilies of PerdicidoR.
Old World forms, with no peculiarity of the under mandible Perdicinee
New World forms, sometimes with dentate under mandible Odontophorinw
Subfamily PERDICIN/E: Old World Partridges and Quails.
Character as just said. Before describing our single introduced representative of this sub-
family, some idea of its composition may be given. The genera above named lead directly to
Perdix, type and name-giving genus of this group, in which the tail has 16 or 18 feathers and
the tarsi are not spurred. It includes the common gray Partridge of Europe, etc., P. perdix or
P. cinerea, and a few others, a glance at any of which would suffice to show how very different
they are from any of the birds called " partridges" in America. Then comes a series of genera
in which the tail is 14-feathered, the tarsi being spurred in some of them and not in others.
Such is Caccabis, with several species, including C rnfa, the Red-legged or Guernsey Partridge,
C. petrosa, the Barbary Partridge, C saxatilis, the Greek Partridge. Francolinus is the
largest genus, of some 40 species, chiefly African and Asiatic, some of which are spurless, while
others have a pair or two pairs of spurs ; the common Francolin is F. francolinus or F. vulgaris,
once common in southern Europe. The African genus Pternistes includes several francolin-
like species, but with bare throats, as P. nudicollis. A large Asiatic genus is Arhoricola, of
17 species, as A. torqueola, the Olive Partridge. Nearly related to these is Caloperdix, like all
the foregoing with a 14-feathered tail, but tlie claw of the hind toe rudimentary ; there are three
PERDICID.E — PERDICIX.T: : PA R TR ID G ES A ND Q L'A IL S.
lOl
species, witli one or more spurs, as C- ocitlea, the Eyed Partridge of the ^ralay Peninsula. Sev-
eral other genera have 12 tail-feathers, as follows : The Koulroul of the Malay countries, etc.,
Bollulus roulroul, is a curiously crested bird, with a rudimentary hallucal claw. Melanoperdix
nigra oi the same countries is in like state, but uncrested. Hcematorti/x sanguinicejh'i of B(>rneo
has 3 pairs of spurs in the ^. Rhizothera longirostris is the oriental Lonir-billed Partridge,
with spurs in both sexes. The Indian genus Perdiciila includes two species of very small Par-
tridges or Quails, P. asiatica and P. argoondnh, with 12 rectrices as in the foregoing, ami blunt
spurs in the J. Ammoperdix is a genus related to Caccahis, but with only 12 rectrices, and in-
cludes two species of desert Quails, A. bonhami and A. heyi; the latter inhabits the region of the
Ked Sea, the Dead Sea, etc., and might be the one which furnished what basis could be found for
the myth of the miraculous feeding of the Israelites. Mdrgaroperdic vmdagascariensis is simi-
larly related to Perdix proper, but with only 12 tail-feathers. In Microperdix the tail is 10-
featliered; there are 3 Indian species, M. erythrorhyncha, M. bleivitti, and 31. vianijmrensis, in
wliich spurs are represented by blunt tubercles in tlie ,^; they are very small Quails, only (3 or
7 inches long. In Cotuniix itself there are indifferently 10 or 12 feathers, and no spurs; and
this is represented in Australia and Papua by a few closely related species in which 10 rectrices
are the rule, though 12 sometimes occur. Finally, in the curious little Quail of the genus
Exccdfactoria, there are only 8 very short soft feathers, hidden by their coverts; such are the
Chinese Quail, E. c}iinensii^, and the African E. adansoni, only about 5 inches long. Such
forms as these brine us around again to the genus Ophnjsia, mentioned above under the head
of tlie family Perdicidce.
C'OTUK'NIX. (Lat. coturnix, a quail; from its note.) Bill smaller and much slenderer
tlian that of any American genera of Odonto})horince ; nasal fossa; feathered, e.Kcept on the
tumid nasal scale. Wings of moderate leiiglii, little vaulted and not rounded, pointed by the
lst-3d quills, the 1st scarcely or not shorter than the next. First primary emarginate on inner
web ; 2d and 3d sinuate on outer web. Tail of 10-12 feathers extremely short and slight, not
half as long as wing, pointed, its feathers very soft, tlie central pair lanceolate. Feet small:
tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw, jOf--^^.^ ?^~% jra' j (V^V
slightly feathered above in front, with
two rows of alternating large scutella
in front, two rows of smaller rounded
scales meeting in a ridge behind, the
sides filled in with small plates. Size
snuiller than that of any of our native
s|iecies ; pattern of coloration some-
what as in Colinus ; sexes nearly alike.
There are several species, besides the
one given below, as C. japonica, wide
ranging in Asia ; C. caj}ensis of South
Africa; C- coromanddica of India, etc. ;
C delegorgiici of Africa; C. j)ector(dis
of Australia; and C. novtc-ZefdandifC.
('. cotiir'iiix. (Fig. 50.5.) Mk.SSIX.V
(^»I AH.. .MiGUATOKV QUAIL. CoM-
MDN Quail of Europ<\ Adult ^ ^ :
Upjicr parts variegated with buff or
whitish and black upon a mixed red-
dish-brown and gray ground, the most conspicuous markings being sharp lance-linear length-
wise stripes of biitf or wliitisli over UK.st of the upper parts, these dashes mostly edgeil with
black: otinr less promimnt huff or whitish cross-bars, scvrral to a feather, likewise tVon.-.l
Fio. 005. — Common Quail of Europe, ) nnt. niie (From Drebiu. )
752 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLING — ALECTOROPODES.
in black. Crown mixed brown and black, with sharp median and lateral buif stripes.
Throat white, bounded before by a dark bar curving down behind auriculars ; behind, by a
necklace of ruddy-brown, blackisli, or wliitish spots; chin varied with dark marks in advance
of the auricular bar. Under parts lading to whitish from the buff or pale yellowish -brown
breast, without any dark crossbars, but long feathers of sides and flanks with large and con-
spicuous white shaft-stripes and otherwise variegated with black, brown, and buff. Primaries
fuscous, spotted with light bri)wn on outer webs ; secondaries similar, but the markings be-
coming bars on both webs. Tail-feathers brownish-black, much varied with shaft-lines, cross-
bars, and edgings of buflf ; crissuni immaculate, like abdomen. Bill dark; feet pale; iris dark
brown. Length about 7.00; wing 3.75; tail 1.75; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw rather
more. Europe, Asia, Africa; recently imported and turned loose in considerable numbers in
the U. S., as in New England ; but its permanent naturalization is open to question. If one
will compare this bird with Bob White he will see how very different is the Old World Quail
from our Colins, or any other birds of this country called "quail;" but that it resembles
these more nearly than the European Partridge, Perdix cinerea, does ; so that, if we must
borrow a name from any Old World birds for our species of Colinus, LopTiortyx, Callipepla,
etc, the term " quail"' is rather more appropriate than " partridge."
Subfamily ODONTOPHORIN/E : American Partridges and Quails.
Head completely feathered, and usually crested, the crest frequently assuming a remarkable
shape. Nasal fossce not filled with feathers ; nostrils covered with a naked scale. Tarsi and
toes naked, latter scarcely or not fringed, former scutellate. Usually a small claw on the thumb.
Tail typically of 12 feathers, rarely 14. Size smaller than in Tetraonidce.
Our Partridges may be distinguished, among American Gallince, by the foregoing charac-
ters, but not from those of the Old World ; and it is highly improbable that, as a group, they
are separable from all the forms of the latter by any decided peculiarities. The principal sup-
posed character, namely, toothing of under mandible, is very faintly indicated in some forms,
and entirely wanting in others. Pending final issue, however, it is expedient to recognize the
group, so strictly limited geographically, if not otherwise. Several beautiful and important
genera occur within our limits, but these Partridges are most numerous in species in Central
and South America. Odontopliorus is the leading genus, with perhaps 15 species, m which the
head is crested, and the sexes are similar. Dacfijlortyx thoracicus is a single species lately sep-
arated from Odontopliorus on account of the dift'erence in the sexes and some other characters,
including the length of the claws. In Eupsychortyx the head is also crested, but tlie sexes are
unlike ; there are at least 5 species of this genus. In the three species of Dendrortyx, all
Central American, the sexes are alike, there is a short occipital crest, and the rounded tail is
nearly as long as the wing; the size is also large, from 12 to 15 inches in length. Philortyx
faseiatus of Mexico, the only species of its genus, is very small, only about 7\ inches long.
Philortyx fasciatus is a peculiarly crested species. The genus Ehynchortyx has been estab-
lished tor two small species usually included in Odontopliorus, but having only 10 rectrices ;
a. spodrostethrus and B. cinctus both inhabit Central America. This case of 10 rectrices in
Ehynchortyx, and that of our Callipepla (see beyond) with 14, are the only exceptions to the
rule in OdontophorintB that the tail is 12-feathered. No members of the family are spurred,
combed, or wattled, and all have the head fully feathered, as well as more or less crested, some-
times in very elegant fashion ; there is also little range of variability in size, and for the most
part a general similarity to one another in pattern of coloration, among the about 45 species
of which the subfamily is known to be composed. They are thus a compact group, in compari-
son at least, with the widely diversified Perdicince of the Old World ; and this fact may have
its weight in deciding us to recognize them as a subfamily, even if they do not very well ex-
■/ )j
PERDICID.E — ODONTOPHORIN^: PARTRIDGES AND QUAILS. 753
hibit the character to which the name Odontophorina: is due. In habits, they agree more or
less completely witli the vvell-kuown Bub White. Our species are apparently monogamous,
and go in small flocks, called " coveys," usually consisting of the members of one family ; some
species " pack" in large flocks; they are terrestrial, but take to trees on occasion; nest on the
ground, laying numerous white or speckled eggs; are chiefly grauivorous, but also feed on
buds, soft fruits, and insects ; and are non-migratory.
Analysis of Genera.
An inconspicuous crest, scarcely visible except in life. Tail about I as long as wing, 12-feathered. Coloration every-
where variegated. Sexes distinguishable. (Two species. ) Colinus
A short, soft, full crest. Tail | the wing, 14-feathered. Coloration much the same all over, showing curious semi-
circular markings. Sexes similar. (One species. ) Callipepla
A long, slender, arrowy crest, two or three mches long, of two narrowly hnear feathers. Tail g as long as wing,
12-feathered. Parti-colored, but the coloration chiefly in masses. Sexes similar. (One species.) . . Oreortyx
A long, recurved, helmet-like crest, of several imbricated plumes, enlarged at extremity. Tail J as long as wing,
12-feathered. Coloration chiefly in mas.ses. Sexes unlike. ^Two species.) Lophortyx
A short, soft, full crest. Tail scarcely \ as long as wing, 12-feathered. Coloration peculiar, in round, white spots
on under parts of the cf. Sexes very uuhke. (One species. ) Cyrtonyz
COLI'NUS. (Latinized from the French colin of Bufl'on and others ; probably derived from
some Mexican word.) Colins. Bob Whites. Feathers of crown lengthened and erectile,
but hardly forming a true cres^t. Tail
about f as long as wing, 12-feathered.
Outstretched feet reaching beyond end
of tail. Coloration much variegated ;
reddish-brown varied with black and
white the leading color. Meat of
breast white. Eggs white, pyriform,
numerous. Besides the species treated
beyond there are several others, as
CC. graysoni, pectoralis, and coi/olcos ^"'- ^°*'- " ^'" '"""^ ^'"'^ °^ ^'''''""^' """'■ '''"■ ^'^"^ "=''• '^'^- ^- ^'^
of Mexico, and C. nigrigularis of Yucatan. (Orty.r of all former eds. of the Key, as of most
writers, after Steph. Gen. Zool. xi, 1819, p. 37C}; but this is untenable because antedated by
Ortyx Oken, Lehrbuch Naturg. vi, 181G, p. 611 (which is a synonym of Ortygis Illioeu,
1811 — an Old World genus of a different family). The next name in order of dates is Ortygia
BoiE, Isis, 1826, p. 977 ; but this is the same word as Ortygis, and so cannot be used. The
next name, and the first one which is tenable by our rules, is Colinus Lesson, Man. ii, 1828,
p. 190, also used, in the form Colinia, by Xl'ttam., Man. i, l^.'ivJ, p. 646: see Auk, Jan.
1885, p. 45.)
Analysis of Species and Subspecies.
Under parts varied with black and rusty on a white or whitish ground.
Length of ^f 10. (H) or rather more; extent 15.00 or more; wing 4.50 or more. Bill blackish-brown. Ground
color dull pinkish-red witli narrow black bars below • lirrfinimiui
Length of (f scarcely 10.00 ; extent under 15.00 ; wing scarcely or not 4.."»0. Bill jet bl.ick. Ground color dark
reddish, with much broader black bars below v . jlor idituus
Length, etc., as in Jioridaniis. Ground color paler tlian in t irgiiiimiu.i^ with numerous black bar*, and increase
of asliy and tawny ■ .... v. Inanus
Under parts mostly uniform cinnamon brown riJgicnyi
C. virKiiiia'iius. (Of Virginia. Fiys. 5(K!, 507, 508.) C'o.mmon ("oi.in. I'.VKTUIDOK, or
Qi All.. I'x)!! W'liiri:. " (,i)i"AiL : "' New England, wherever the Itufled (Jrouse is callotl
"partridge." " I'autkidge: " Snuthern ami Middle States, wherever the KnH'ed (trouse is
called " j.heasant." Also siiecified as the Amkhuan, Vikcixiax, and Makvland C'ohlN,
I'AUTKlixiK, or QfAIL. Ailnlt (J : Forehead, superciliary line, and throat white, borderetl
with black; cmwTi, neik all muiid, and upper part i.f Imast bniwni.>ih-red ; other under parts
4^
754 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
tawny- whitish, all with more or fewer doubly crescentic black bars; crissum rufous; sides
broadly striped with brownish-red; upper parts variegated with chestnut, black, gray, and
tawny, the latter edging inner quills, forming a continuous line when the wing is closed. 9 :
Known by having throat bufiF instead of white, less black about fore-parts, and general color-
ation subdued. The reddish of this bird is of a peculiar dull pinkish shade; black crescents
of under parts scarcely or not half the width of intervening white spaces; bill not jet black.
Length of $ 10.00-10.50; extent 15.00-15.50; wing 4.50 to nearly 5.00; tail 2.75-3.00.
99.50-10.00; extent 14.50-15.00; wing 4.25-4.50; tail 2.50-2.75. Chicks in down butf be-
low, browner on sides and paler on throat, the back chestnut, a patch of same on top of head,
and black marks on its sides. Among thousands of Bob Whites yearly destroyed, albinotic or
melanotic, and other abnormally colored specimens, are frequently found ; but the percentage
of these cases is nothing unusual, and the sportsman must be cautioned against supposing that
such birds have any status, in a scientific point of view, beyond their illustration of certain per-
fectly well-known variations. Such specimens, however, are interesting and valuable, and
should always be preserved. Eastern U. S. N. to Maine, Ontario, and Minnesota. West
Fio. 507. — Mr. and Mrs. Bob White, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.)
to high central plains, in South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and
eastern Texas, and all tlie while steadily extending in that direction with the settlements and
railroads ; it has already got beyond the limits assigned in the Key in 1884, and has been intro-
duced and become acclimated in various parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Cali-
fornia, Oregon, and Washington. I shot it at Fort Randall. S. D., in 1872-73. It breeds
indifferently throughout its range, and is usually resident wherever found. The characteristic
game bird of this country, whose mellow and melodious pipe proclaims its name, so dear to the
heart of the sportsman. It is translated in our language in many ways besides " bob-white,"
and may be heard throughout the breeding season, whicli commonly extends through most of
the spring and summer, tliough eggs have occasionally been found in nearly all mouths of the
year. Eggs indefinitely numerous, averaging over a dozen, usually 12-18, sometimes up to
3 dozen, pure white, pointed at one end and very blunt at the other, from 1.30 X 1-00 to J. 05
X 0.90, averaging 1.20 X 0.95.
C. V. florida'nus. (Of Florida.) Florida Quail. Rather smaller, $ about size of 9 vir-
ginianus, but bill relatively larger, jet-black ; colors darker, all black markings heavier, those
of under parts nearly as broad as intervening white spaces. Florida, and similar specimens in
PERDICID.E — ODONTOPHORIN^: PARriilDGES AND QUAILS. 755
the lower Mississippi Valley; an approach to the Cuban form (C. cubanensis). Habits, nest,
and eggs indistinguishable from those of the common Bob White ; but this southern form breeds
earlier, from February onward. As stated in the Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904, the Cuban bird
was for a time supposed to occur in Florida, being so given in Kidgw. Man. 1887, p. 188,
figuring in the A. 0. U. Abridged Check-List, 1889, as No. 289 c, and separately treated as
such by Bendire, i, 1892, p. 9. All the Bob Whites of Florida belong to the single sub-
species established in the original edition of the Key, 1872. p. 237.
C. V. texa'nus. (Of Texas.) Texas Quail. S\ze of floridamis ; colors paler, prevailing
shade rather gray than brown ; upper parts mucli variegated with tawny. Texas, X. to Kansas,
FlO. 508. —The Bob White Family. (From " Sport with dun and Ro.i ; " The Century Co , N. Y.)
S. into Mexico. No ditierence from rirginifoius proper in luibits, nest, or eggs, the latter aver-
age 1 .20 X 0.90, as before. This bird shades directly into the stock form on the one hand, and
on the other approaches C graysoni.
C. ridK'wayi. (To K. Kidgway. Fig. 509.) Kidoway's CoLiN. Arizona Bob White.
Maskki) Bint White. Hooded Quail. Adult ^ : Front, and sides of liead and neck,
black, witli or without a narrow white frontal line and superciliary stripe. I'nder parts
diestnut or cinnamon (about tlic color of l)reast of Kobin), varying much iu sliade, generally
unspotted, except on tlanks, where tlii' fcatliers are usually tipped with an oval white spot,
preceded by a sul)terminal black 1>ar ; lower tail-coverts with a V-shaped black spot bordered
with whitish ; occasionally small touches of black and white along sides. Crown, liind head,
and nape mi.xed Idack. uiiite, and pale bniwii, nr yellowish-white ; hind neck and iiiter.M-apu-
756 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
lars reddish-brown, usually with a grayish cast; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts minutely
variegated with blackish, pale brown, and grayish-white, the black usually prevailing, but
variable in amount. Wing-coverts rufous, each feather barred with blackish and edged and
tipped with whitish ; primaries dusky, edged and scalloped internally with whitish ; secondaries
externally dusky, barred
and freckled with pale
brown and yellowish-
white ; inner secondaries
and scapulars edged
with yellowish - white
(very broadly so on in-
ner edges), and other-
wise variegated. Tail
above bluish-gray, mi-
nutely freckled and
waved with whitish ; tail
below gray, faintly and
irregularly barred and
waved with grayish-
white. Bill black ; feet
horn-color; iris brown.
Length 9.75; extent
14.2.5; wing 4.50; tail
2.75; tarsus 1.20. The
female resembles that
sex of C. ^^!. texensis so
closely as not to be read-
ily distinguished. The
species is closely related
to C. graysoni of Mex-
ico, and may yet be found
to intergrade therewith.
Southern Arizona and
Sonora, where it has-
long been known as a game bird, though long unrecognized as a species by ornithologists; I
heard of it there in 1864-65, though I never had a specimen. It calls " Bob-white," like the
rest of its kind, has the same habits, and its eggs are indistinguishable. On its first intro-
duction to our Fauna it was mistaken for C graysoni of Lawrence, Ann. Lye N. Y. viii,
May, 1867, p. 476, and thus appeared as Coliniis graysoni in the A. 0. U. List, 1886, p. 168,.
No. 290. It was first described as C. ridgwayi by Brewster, Auk, Apr. 1885, p. 199, and
figured as such by Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. July, 1886, pi. 23. Ortyx ridgwayi
CouES, Key, 3d ed. 1887, p. 884. Colinus ridgwayi A. 0. U. Lists, 1st and 2d eds. No. 291.
OREOR'TYX. (Gr. opos, oros, a mountain ; oprv^, ortux, Lat. ortyx, a quail. The gram-
matical gender is in question ; the Greek word is masculine, the Lat. feminine. In ornithol-
ogy, good usage is about equally divided.) Plumed Quail. Head adorned with an arrowy
crest of 2 slender keeled plumes, 3-4 inches long in ^ when fiill-devek»ped ; present in 9) shorter.
Bill and feet stout ; tarsus equal to middle toe and claw. Tail about f tlie wing, broad, rounded,
with long coverts and 12 rectrices. Size large ; colors massed in large areas ; sexes alike-
Eggs bufi"-colored. One large handsome species.
Fig. 509. — Masked Bob White,
D. G. Elliot.)
(From " Game Birds of North America," by
PERDICID^E — ODONTOPHORIN^ : PARTRIDGES AND QUAILS. 151
Analysis of Subspecies.
Above extensively glossed over with olive-brown; inner edges of secondaries buff; forehead ashy. Coast region
northerly picius
Above restrictedly glossed over with olive-brown ; inner edges of secondaries pale buff ; forehead whitish. Interior
region, and coastwise southerly . . . . • p. plumiferus
Like the last ; grayer ; bill thicker. Lower California p. confinii
O. pic'tus. (Lat. incta, pictured, painted. Fig. 511.) Plumed Partridge. Mountain
Quail of the Calit'urniaus. Adult (J 9 • Back, wings, and tail olive-browu ; inner secondaries
and tertials bordered with buff or tawny, forming a
lengthwise border in single line when wings are folded ;
primaries fuscous ; tail-feathers fuscous, minutely mar-
bled with color of back. Fore-parts, above and below,
slaty-gray (above more or less glossed with the olive-
brov?n shade of
back, below mi-
nutely marbled with
black) ; throat
chestnut, immedi-
ately bordered lat-
(^^^i^^^P* \ ('rally with black,
:s^^->=.^^S3^^^^— — then framed in a
'i^^MA"^ l^aBU^^ fi"J^ white line,
'■1" V/mSKW broken through
^h^^A ''*vl^B around base of
'' 'i^rail under mandible.
^V'li ^\ Extreme forehead
ifiAw ashy. Arrow -
plumes black. i^^-^;^^^^^*^'^
Fio. 510. —Helmet Quail (/-.(7a?)!6eZi),nat. Belly chestnut ; Fio. .511. — Plumed Quail. (From Ten-
size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) sides banded with ney, after Audubon.)
broad bars of black and white, or rufous-white; middle of lower belly, tibia, and tlanks, whit-
ish or rufous; crissum velvety-black, streaked with chestnut. Bill dusky, paler below; feet
brown. Length 11.00-12.00; extent lG.00-17.00; wing 5.00-5.50; tail 3.00-3.50; tarsus
l.(i0; middle toe and claw about the same. Chicks in down very curiously striped and spotted
with black, brown, and chestnut on the head, back, and tlanks, dull whitish on the breast and
belly. An elegant species, much larger and more beautiful than B(d) White, inhabiting the
mountainous parts of the Pacific coast region from California to Washington; extension in
the latter State recent, partly natural, but artificially assisted ; lately introduced also on ^'au-
couver Island. The relative extent of the olive and slaty parts is very variable (see following
subspecies). There is something of a Grouse in the composition of this Partridge. Egg a
miniature of the Kuffed Grouse's, only distinguished by smaller size — 1.40 X l-K' t<i 1.30 X
1.00; the clutch is (J-IO, averaging about a dozen, mostly laid in May and June.
O. p. plumiferus. (Lat. plumiferus, plume-bearing; lAuma, a plume; fero, to bear, carry.)
Plu-MEd Partuid(;e or Mountain Quail of the interior. Like the la.st, with which included
in former editions of the Key. Differing in greater extent of the slaty-gray, and corresponding
restriction of the olive-brown overtone, the whiti.'^h forehead, and the pale biitT or whitish border
line along the inner edge of the wing. In the best marked cases, the back of the neck is tjuite
like the breast, instead of Ixing olive-bmwii like the back. This is the prevailing form ou
both sides of the Cascade range in Uregoii. the Sierras Nevadas in California, autl even the
758 SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — GALLIN.E — ALECTOROPODES.
coast range in the latter State from about hit. 34° to Lower California ; in fine, it is the ordi-
nary Mountain Quail of most parts of California, aside from the restricted Coast Range of the
preceding, and also the one which extends E. into Nevada. The distinction is a subtle one,
but I am willing to let the subspecies pass muster with a hundred others of which I have no
favorable private opinion. 0. ])icta, in part, of most authors. Ortyx plumifera Gould, 1857.
Oreortyx pictus var. plumiferus Ridgw. in Bd. Brew, and Ridgw. Hist. N. A. B. iii, 1874,
p. 476 ; A. O. U. No. 292 a.
O. p. confl'iiis. (Lat. next to, adjoining, being on the border of.) San Pedro Mountain
Quail or Plumed Partridge. " Differing from 0. p. xtlnmifera in grayer upper parts and
thicker bill." San Pedro Mts. of Lower California. Anthony, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 2d ser.
ii, Oct. 1889, p. 74; Coues, Key, 4th ed. 1890, p. 904 ; A. 0. U. List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 292 h.
LOPHOR'TYX. (Gr. \6(l>os, lophos, a crest ; oprv^, ortiix, a quail.) Helmet Quail.
With an elegant crest, recurved helmet- wise, of several (6-10, usually 6 or 7) keeled, clubbed,
glossy-black, imbricated feathers, more than 1.00 long when fully developed; in 9, smaller,
of fewer feathers. Tarsus slightly shorter than middle toe and claw. Tail normally of 12
feathers, exceptionally 10 or 14, about | as long as wing ; outstretched feet not reaching to
its end. A small claw on the pollex. Bulk of Bob White, but longer; 10.00-11.00; wing
4.00 or more; tail 3.00 or more. Coloration chiefly in masses; sexes unlike. ^ with chin
and throat jet-black, sharply bordered with white ; a white line across vertex and along sides
of crown, bordered behind by black ; 9 without these head-markings. Eggs heavily colored.
Two elegant species in the U. S., and another in Mexico, C. elegans. This genus is closely
related to the Mexican genus Philortyx (P. fasciatus and P. personatus). It was reduced to
a subgenus of Callipepla, by the A. O. U. in 1886-95. See Coues, Auk, 1897, p. 214, whence
A. 0. U. restored to full genus, Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 106, as it has always stood in
the Key. See also Elliot, Gall. Game Birds, 1897, pp. 195, 196.
Analysis of Species and Subspecies.
(f middle of belly orange-chestnut ; sides like back, with white stripes ; hind-head smoky-brown ; forehead chiefly
whitish, with white loral line.
Back and flanks dark brown ; edges of inner secondaries deep buff californica
Back and flanks light brown ; edges of inner secondaries pale buff c. vallicola
cf middle of belly jet-black ; sides chestnut, with white stripes ; hind-head chestnut ; forehead chiefly black ; no
white loral line gambeli
Li. califor'nica. (Lat. Californian. Fig. 512.) Californian Partridge. Valley Quail
or Top-knot Quail of the Californians. Adult $ : With a small white line from bill to eye ;
forehead whitish with black lines ; occiput smoky-brown ; nuchal and cervical feathers with
very dark edging and shaft-lines, and fine whitish speckling. General color of upper parts
ashy, with strong olive-brown gloss, the edging of the inner quills brownish-orange. Fore
breast slaty-blue; other under parts tawny, deepening into rich golden-brown or orange-chest-
nut on the belly, where all the feathers are sharply edged with jet-black ; sides olive-brown
like back, with sharp white stripes; vent and crissum tawuy, with dark stripes. Length
10.00-11.00; wing 4.25; tail 3.75; tarsus 1.25; middle toe and claw rather more. Besides
lacking definite head-markings, 9 wants rich sienna color of under parts, which are whitish or
tawny with black semicircles as in ^ ; breast olive-gray. Young in first plumage marked with
white, black-bordered shaft-lines on the upper parts, breast with angular white spots, and belly
with obscure gray bars. Chicks in down dingy white, more rusty abt)ve, varied with length-
wise brown markings, especially one on the nape, and dusky on side of head. The changes of
plumage are parallel with those of gambeli. Lower portions of California, Oregon, Washing-
ton, and British Columbia; S. tt) Monterey, N., in part at least, due to introduction; charac-
teristic of the Pacific coast region, where abundant. A fine species, entirely distinct from
PERDICIDM — ODONTOPHURIN^: PARTRIDGES AND QUAILS. 759
gambeli, but habits and manners in all respects the same: replaces gamheU westward. Nest
normally on the ground, as usual in this order of birds, exceptionally in a bush or even a